Religion of Thursday, 19 August 2021
Source: atinkaonline.com
2021-08-19
The Rev. Father was relieved of his position
A former General Secretary of the National Association of Charismatic and Christian Church of Ghana (CCCGH), Rev. Dr Emmanuel Ansah says the Priest who kissed female students at the St Monica’s College of Education within the Asante-Mampong Diocese, Father Balthazar Obeng Larbi did not glorify Christ with his actions.
According to him, the pastor was expected to teach the students right from wrong and so kissing them in front of a congregation was wrong, whether it was a ‘holy kiss’ or not.
Father Larbi was seen in a viral video standing behind a pulpit kissing female students one after the other.
One cannot tell why he did that but some of the girls did not seem happy about the Priest’s action.
In a statement, the Anglican Church of Ghana said it was saddened by the news, adding that a thorough Investigation has immediately been instituted into the matter.
After a crunch meeting convened by school authorities in Asante Mampong over the kissing brouhaha, Father Larbi was relieved of his position.
Although a section of the public was not comfortable with the Priest’s action, some people, including students jumped to his defence, saying it was a “Holy kiss” he gave the students while appreciating them.
Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, hosted by Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Rev. Dr Emmanuel Ansah said, “As pastors, we are the first ambassadors of Christ and the church follows us, and so if we are ambassadors and are expected to emulate Christ, then what happened contradicts the life of Christ.”