The Ghanaian member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans/Holy Ghost Fathers/CSSp.) directs “all Priests to read this letter and announce this Prayer Walk in all Churches in the Archdiocese on Sunday, October 06, 2024.”
“Each Parish Priest or Priest-in-Charge is expected to bus his parishioners and support this event with bottles of water,” he further directs, and adds, “All Priests, Religious and Lay Faithful are expected to be present to show their commitment to our Country and its environment.”
Archbishop Kwofie goes on to call upon members of the Knights and Ladies Auxiliary of St. John International (KSJI) and those of Knights and Ladies of Marshall “to be present in their uniform and assist in coordination and maintenance of order.”
“May our Blessed Lady, who we beech in earnest prayer in this walk, intercede for our beloved country Ghana,” the Local Ordinary of Accra, who started his Episcopal Ministry in September 2014 as Bishop of Ghana’s Catholic Diocese of Sekondi-Takoradi implores.
Ghana’s Catholic Bishops have vocal against illegal mining. In their latest collective statement dated September 11, members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) expressed their deep concern over the pollution of key water bodies and the loss of agricultural land due to illegal mining activities.
GCBC members advocated for synergy in addressing the challenges of Galamsey, saying, “We call on all other stakeholders, including the government, legislature, judiciary, media, civil society, chiefs, and religious leaders, to unite in the fight against illegal mining and environmental degradation.”
A day later, members of KSJI in Ghana threw their support behind GCBC members’ call on various stakeholders to urgently and decisively address illegal mining in the West African nation.
“The Knights of St. John International and Ladies’ Auxiliary join our Bishops in calling for immediate and decisive action from the government to put an end to galamsey,” KSJI members said in their statement dated September 12.
Focusing their attention on Nana Addo Akufo-Addo,-led government, they said that the Ghanaian government “should be firm in responding to this call and should demonstrate same by immediately prosecuting defaulters irrespective of which side of the political divide they belong.”
Sabrine Amboka contributed to the writing of this story.
