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“I vehemently call on my Catholics to lay down their tools”: Archbishop to Illegal Miners in Ghana

By Jude Atemanke

Accra, 12 October, 2024 / 10:19 pm (ACI Africa).

Archbishop John Bonaventure Kwofie of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra in Ghana has called on Catholics involved in illegal mining to abandon the vice. 

Archbishop Kwofie, who was addressing participants in the “Environmental Prayer Walk” against illegal mining in Ghana, commonly known as Galamsey, challenged other faith-based leaders to call on their members to “relinquish” the vice and “seek repentance”. 

“Galamsey cuts across religions and denominations. I vehemently call on my Catholics to lay down their tools,” the Ghanaian Catholic Archbishop said during the Friday, October 11 event that his Metropolitan See organized in partnership with the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious - Ghana (CMSR-GH).

He added, “You too, leaders of other religions, and pastors of souls, do the same; perhaps we can inspire some to relinquish their actions and seek repentance.”

Archbishop Kwofie reiterated the need for synergy in the fight against Galamsey, calling on leaders to join forces and define strategies that not only address the symptoms but also the root causes of the vice.

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Addressing himself to leaders at the grassroots, he said, “These ethnic groups have overlords or paramount chiefs. We must all come together to stop this menace.”

Alluding to some of the negative consequences of illegal mining, the Ghanaian member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Spiritans/Holy Ghost Fathers/CSSp.) warned, “We don’t want to give birth to deformed babies – babies with three or five limbs, or with brain disorders.”

The Local Ordinary of Accra, who started his Episcopal Ministry in September 2014 as Bishop of Ghana’s Catholic Diocese of Sekondi-Takoradi went on to fault political candidates, who have not incorporated ways to end Galamsey in their respective manifestos ahead of the general elections in the West African nation scheduled for December 7.

“If your manifesto doesn’t outline a plan against Galamsey, it suggests that you want us all dead,” he said during the spiritual initiative dubbed “Environmental prayer walk against Galamsey (illegal mining): Caring for our common home – Laudato Si’”.

The October 11 “environmental prayer walk” followed the directive of Archbishop Kwofie that the Clergy, women and men Religious and Laity participate in the initiative.

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“This initiative reflects our civil, communal, and religious commitment to our country and its ecosystem which is being destroyed,” Archbishop Kwofie said in his letter dated October 3, the eve of the Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of ecology and composer of the words of the canticle, “LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”.

Participants, the Catholic Archbishop said, were to “engage in a Peaceful Prayer Walk, praying the Rosary which is our weapon against any adversaries.”

Jude Atemanke

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.

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