Religious Orders in Ghana Urge President to Sign into Law Anti-LGBTQ+ Bill

CMSR-GH members drawn from the Major Superiors of men and women Religious Orders of the 71 Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in Ghana added, “While respecting the constitutional rights of all citizens and all those who live and visit Ghana to freedom of choice and association and to their privacy, issues of public ethics and morality, especially in what touches the family, have always occupied a special place in common legislation.”

“The family, derived from the sexual partnership of male and female, is the bedrock and foundation of any society and should be protected and promoted. We therefore add our voice to the numerous calls for the government to sign the bill into law,” they said, underscoring the need for President Akufo-Addo to sign the anti-LGBTQ+ Bill into law.

According to BBC News, President Akufo-Addo has previously said that he would assent to the Bill “if the majority of Ghanaians want him to.”

Meanwhile, members of CMSR-GH have called for peace during the electioneering period in Ghana, where general elections are scheduled to take place on December 7.

In their collective statement following their March 11-15 first bi-annual meeting for the year 2024, CMSR-GH have urged political candidates to “play by the rules” and to avoid incidences that could potentially lead to violence and loss of lives.

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“Even as we pray for peaceful, free and fair elections, we want to reiterate the calls of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference for all stakeholders to play by the rules,” they say, referring to the Pastoral Letter for Lent 2024 that was published on February 13, GCBC members urging the Christian electorate to “actively participate” in voting for a President and representatives in Ghana’s Parliament. 

CMSR-GH members emphasize the need for peace during the electioneering period, saying, “It is the sovereign right of the people of Ghana to decide who should govern them and no one should do anything that will thwart or distort this right of the people.”

Referring to the outcomes of their March 11-15 meeting at the Arnold Janssen Spirituality Center that was organized under the theme, “Consecrated Life and Collaborative ministry in the local church”, they say, “We singled out for special mention violence before, during and after the elections.”

“No one must lose his or her life in the exercise of his/her constitutional right to vote to determine who governs him/her. And every vote must count and be counted,” CMSR-GH members have said.

They have called on the electorate in Ghana to be on the lookout for “any person or group of persons that is prepared to kill in the pursuit of power”, saying that such a person or group can neither be trusted nor be entrusted with power.