CATHOLICS IN GHANA AGAINST GALAMSEY
The menace of Galamsey -(illegal mining) in Ghana is no longer news. What is now news, that should be spread widely is that the Catholic Church in Ghana – the Ghana Catholic Bishops’Conference (GCBC), Conference of Major Superiors of Religious, Ghana ( CMSR- G), Priests, Religious Brothers and Sisters and the Layfaithful, over the weekend, responded positively to the call by the Ghanaian populace for the Catholic Church to show action against galamsey, apart from writing Communiques, organising seminars and preaching against it at the pulpit.
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra Archdiocese, Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp in collaboration with the CMSR-G, and approval of the GCBC, organised a powerful Environmental Prayer Walk that publicly denounced not only Galamsey but all other forms of activities that devastate Mother Earth – our common home, as emphasized by Pope Francis in Laudato ‘Si. The unique action took place precisely on Friday 11th October 2024. The priests and religious, Catholic faithful from many parishes in the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra and beyond, including large number of other people gathered at the Holy Spirit Cathedral, Accra and prayer walked through the metropolis to the Christ the king Catholic Church, Cantonments, where the Holy Mass was offered for divine intervention in Galamsey and other activities that render the earth unfit for human habitation.
The Police were ubiquitous. They did not only provide security, they also came with their Rosaries and prayed along with us.
A selected unit of the Prayer Walk was sent to the Jubilee House, where the Message of the Archbishop against Galamsey and other forms of destructive activities of natural resources, was presented to President Nana Akufo Addo through his representatives.
They Police were ubiquitous.They did not only provide security; they also came with their Rosaries and prayed along with us. What should follow now is individual and group actions against Galamsey and all acts of environmental degradation according to 7 action steps listed in Laudato’ Si:
1. Get angry at activities that destroy the environment.
2. Develop eco-spirituality.
3. Avoid the use of plastic bags and its’ accessories.
4. Separate your waste – into organic and inorganic.
5. Support environmental advocacy.
6. Educate someone on environmental friendliness.
7. Pray for the conversation of Galamseyists and other destroyers of the environment.
DEPSOCOM NCS