About 5, 000 Catholics are expected to join in the Environmental “Prayer Walk” Against Illegal Mining (galamsey), a menace which is currently ravaging the water bodies, environment and the nation as a whole.
The Prayer Walk set to take place on Friday, October 11, 2024 is being organised by the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, in collaboration with the Conference of Major Superiors of Religious in Ghana.
The peaceful and prayerful walk, which starts at 10:00 a.m. from the Holy Spirit Cathedral at Adabraka and ends at Christ the King Parish, Cantonments, aims to raise awareness and pray for an end to illegal galamsey that is harming the environment.
Participants of the Prayer Walk mainly Catholics would solemnly pray the Rosary while walking through some principal streets of the capital and ending with a Holy Mass and the presentation of a petition to the Presidency at the Jubilee House.
Addressing the media at a Press Conference at the Holy Spirit Cathedral on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, Rev. Fr. Nicholas Aazine, SVD, said the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra and the Conference of Major Superiors of the Religious Congregations Ghana, recognize their moral obligation to protect God’s creation and promote integral human development not only in words but also in action, as the Latinist say facta non verba.
“In light of the above, the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra and the Conference of Major Superiors of the Religious Ghana are calling on all Catholics, Christians and all well-meaning Ghanaians to join the Environmental Prayer Walk Against Galamsey,” he said.
He reiterated that the goals of the Prayer Walk were specifically to raise awareness about the devastating effects of galamsey, advocate for Government to declare a state of emergency to stop all forms of mining activities to allow for evaluation of the damages and healing of the land, mobilize Catholics and Ghanaians to demand that Government acts now and not provide only promises, foster collaboration among stakeholders to address the issue of mining activities that are destructive to our environment and promote environmental sustainability and protection.
According to Fr. Aazine on the background of the Laudato Si encyclical written by Pope Francis in 2015, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference launched its Laudato Si Action Programme in 2021 and this followed ecological teachings promoted by the Conference since 1965 when the Conference begun issuing communiques and other pastoral documents till now.
“The Ecological Teachings of the Church are grounded on the Catholic Social Teachings such as Stewardship and Care of Creation, the Earth as a Common Home, Inter-Generational Solidarity and Ecology,” he told the Media.
The Laudato Si Action Programme of the Bishops’ Conference of Ghana has seven major goals: Response to the cry of the earth, Response to the cry of the poor, Ecological economics, Adoption of sustainable lifestyles, Ecological education, Ecological spirituality and Community engagement and participatory action.
“These goals are what the Conference has sought to teach and propagate through training advocacy and its public statements,” the SVD Priest stated.
According to him, galamsey, which is clearly not limited to small scale mining, has become a national public disaster, leading to the destruction of water bodies, forests, and farmlands, pollution of rivers and water sources, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem disruption, health risks for communities and miners, and economic losses and social instability.
“Clearly, this menace of destroying our water bodies, land and atmosphere is not only perpetrated by illegal mining, known as Galamsey, but also by some legal mining companies,” he pointed out.
On October 4, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, the Mopst Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp invited the people of God to take part in the October 11 Prayer walk.
In a letter to the Priests, Religious and lay faithful, the stressed on the importance of participating in the spiritual initiative dubbed “Environmental prayer walk against Galamsey (illegal mining): Caring for our common home – Laudato Si’”.
“This initiative reflects our civil, communal, and religious commitment to our country and its ecosystem which is being destroyed,” Archbishop Kwofie says in his letter dated Thursday, 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”.
By Damian Avevor
