By Ernest Nutsugah
Accra, Mar 28, GNA – The Conference of Major Superiors of Religious-Ghana (CMSR-GH) has urged citizens and stakeholders to ensure that the December 2024 general elections take place peacefully.
The Catholic Church organisation said all parties must adhere to the rules outlined ahead of the polls to achieve a credible electoral outcome.
Very Rev. Dr Paul Saa-Dade Ennin, President, CMSR-GH, said security agencies and relevant bodies, including the media, the Peace Council, and the Electoral Commission, should “do all in their power to prevent actions or inactions that have the potential of creating violence” before, during and after the polls.
He noted that the citizens had “the sovereign right to decide who should govern them and no one should do anything that will thwart or distort the right of the people.”
“No one must lose his or her life in the exercise of his or her constitutional right to vote to determine who governs him or her, and every vote must count and be counted,” he said.
This and other highlights were in a communique issued at the end of the association’s 2024 biannual conference held at the Arnold Jassen Spirituality Center at Bortianor Hills in Accra.
The conference themed: “Consecrated Life and Collaborative Ministry in the Local Church,” deliberated on a wide range of religious matters and issues of national concern.
In its discussions, CMSR-GH added its voice to calls for the President to sign the recently enacted Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill into law.
It said the “family, derived from the sexual partnership of male and female,” was the bedrock of society and should be “protected and promoted.”
The organisation also expressed concern about environmental degradation.
According to CMSR-GH, a series of activities were being planned throughout the year to help address indiscriminate mining and environmental degradation, which it said was pushing the nation to “a collective catastrophe.”
“We are sitting on a time bomb, and it is time to say, “Enough is enough”! Let’s use our God-given rationality to create sustainable wealth and not succumb to our human greed which only destroys and kills our conscience and humanity,” it noted, and called on stakeholders nationwide to join in the campaign.
The organisation asked the government and traditional authorities to find a lasting solution to concerns of land litigation, which it said was hindering development projects.
CMSR-GH is the umbrella body of leaders, designated as Major Superiors. It comprises men and women who, like the Apostles, left everything behind to be with Christ.
The Catholic Church in Ghana owes its existence to the pioneering work of members of these congregations who are involved in various Catholic Church social intervention projects in education, health, and ministry to the poor and marginalized, justice and peace, women’s empowerment, girl-child education, the fight against human trafficking, and many other areas.
GNA