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Catholic Bishops in Ghana to Speak to “prevention, combating extremist attacks” in West Africa in Peace Initiative Forum

By Silas Isenjia

Accra, 28 July, 2024 / 9:39 pm (ACI Africa).

Members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference (GCBC) are set to weigh in on challenge of extremism in the West African nation and the wider Sahel Region in a planned Sahel Peace Initiative Forum scheduled for July 30-31.

In an interview with Ghana’s GH One TV, the Director of the Directorate of Governance, Justice and Peace at the National Catholic Secretariat (NCS) in Ghana said the initiative, to be held at the Accra International Conference Centre, is part of the GCBC members’ efforts to foster peace and security in Ghana and the West African sub-region.

“The Sahel Peace Initiative is aimed at combating the threat of jihadism at Ghana’s borders and regions across West Africa. We are looking at how we can mobilize stakeholder action in prevention and combating extremist attacks,” Fr. Michael Kobina Ackon Quaicoe is quoted as saying in a  Catholic Trends July 25 report.

Fr. Ackon adds, “The forum is one of the Church’s concrete efforts to augment what it believes is the role of government and essentially what is the role of the entire society to keep society safe, to make sure that people find a conducive environment for development.”

The planned peace initiative according to the report is the Catholic Church’s response to the unprecedented violence against civilians in the Sahel Region, with strategies tailored to each country’s specific context.

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The Sahel region stretches from the Atlantic Ocean Eastward through Northern Senegal, Southern Mauritania, the great bend of the Niger River in Mali, Burkina Faso, Southern Niger, Northeastern Nigeria, South-central Chad, and into Sudan.

In the July 25 report, the Ghanaian Catholic Priest says that the planned “forum is one of the Church’s concrete efforts to augment what it believes is the role of government and essentially what is the role of the entire society to keep society safe, to make sure that people find a conducive environment for development.”

The report indicates that some 200 participants drawn from various sectors, including political parties, civil society organizations, women’s groups, police, and the Electoral Commission, are to participate in the two-day event. 

The report also indicates that GCBC members, supported financially by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), have been educating religious leaders on inter-religious dialogue as a means to combat violent extremism.

In the report, Fr. Ackon is quoted as saying that the Church’s role in society “manyfold”. 

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“The Church understands its mission from its divine master as the mother of humanity and therefore, to care for everyone. The Church’s action shows itself in mostly soft power actions in how we use discourse,” he says.  

Fr. Ackon adds that the Church manifests its soft power in the way it engages stakeholders and fights factions. He explains that the Church exploits its soft power actions on both the national and local levels.

Silas Isenjia

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.

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