Most Rev. John Martin Darko, Catholic Bishop of Sekondi-Takoradi Diocese, said this New Year should see all human kind working for peace and abandoning our parochial interests for the common good and forging ahead as a family of one people with a common destiny. ÂÂ
“Peace will be ours if and only if we work positively and deliberately for it, so if we want peace we must avoid all acts that threaten peace such as greed for power, money and wealth.
“May God restore our moral conscience as Ghanaians and assist us with grace as we make an undertaking to avoid attacks on one another for political and ethic reasons.
“We must also not consider the poor as graft to human society which must be eliminated by letting them struggle and die without society propping them up to bridge the gap between the poor and the rich.
“The physical world is not eternal, for we are passing through this world but once, so we must be our brother’s keeper. But the question then arises: Are we ready to be disciplined and be disciples of Jesus or Mohammed with the requisite moral power? Are we fighting corruption and corrupt practices, hatred and ethnocentrism?†he stated.
Brother Dan Owusu Asiamah, Missionary within the Churches of Christ, asked Christians the world over to remember that “the Bible is our constitution and must therefore live by its contracts throughout our life timeâ€Â.
He added, “Christians should be careful of the upsurge of prayer camps and fake pastors who are misleading and defrauding people. Nobody is so sinful to be avoided by God if he or she prays directly to God.
“On the political front, my observation is that African politicians don’t want to make the slightest of sacrifice. In fact, majority of Ghanaian politicians have not sense of patriotism but only want to amass wealth. ÂÂ
“We must also understand that this country does not belong to any political party, so political vindictiveness will not take us anywhere. ÂÂ
“This year, we must rather resolve to do all we can to serve God and nation because we enjoy life most when we allow God to use us to solve problems in societyâ€Â.
Bishop Emmanuel Botwey, General Overseer of Christian Faith Church said: “We should make use of opportunities God has given us and endeavour to live honest and upright lives at all times to merit our status as ideal Christians.
“In that regard, if we want a better Ghana, then we should be better leaders, better politicians, better pastors and better people in any area of our career to serve our nation and contribute towards its progress. ÂÂ
“As clergymen, we should remain respectable people, so those charlatans or pseudo men of God who in recent times have infiltrated our ranks to disgrace the profession must desist from the practice.
“It is my prayer that those ‘clergymen’ who misuse the Bible to defraud people, take unapproved offerings, embezzle church funds and even bathe women should be brought to book because every genuine man of God should be the light of the world. Our lives as Christians should please God and humankind, so the clergy must also avoid ostentatious living and rather help the poor and needy.
“We often speak against armed robbery in society, but there are people of God who do worst things than armed robbers because there are instances when some ‘pastors’ misuse the Bible to defraud innocent people, leading to their death. We should pray to God to heal this country of nepotism, prostitution, bribery, corruption, tribal conflicts and political vendettaâ€Â.
From Sam Mark Essien, Takoradi
