At the closing Mass of their 10th Biennial Conference on Sunday, September 8, 2024, members of the Christian Mothers’ Association (CMA) in the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, have prayed against the excessive destruction of the environment through illegal mining (galamsey) activities which is currently on the rise in many parts of the country.
In one of the prayer intentions during the ‘Prayers of the Faithful’, the Mothers called on Ghanaians to rise up against “this indiscriminate destruction of our environment and water bodies.”
In the prayer intention, the Mothers lamented that God has endowed Ghana with rich natural resources which are not being used for the benefit of the people but rather being destroyed by a group of people for their own parochial interest.
The closing Mass to climax the five-day Conference of the Accra CMA was presided over by Rev. Fr. Albert Apewe Amonzem of the St. Thomas Aquinas Chaplaincy, University of Ghana, Legon and concelebrated by Rev. Fr. Joseph Henry Mensah, Parish Priest of St. Maurice Parish, La, Accra.
Illegal small-scale mining, or Galamsey, has wreaked havoc on Ghana’s water bodies. Despite efforts by stakeholders to curb this menace, it has only escalated. Currently, three-quarters of Ghana’s water sources are poisoned with toxic chemicals, and the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) finds it increasingly challenging to purify drinking water.
Speaking to newswatchgh.com, some CMA members expressed worry about the galamsey menace, calling on Ghanaians including Catholics to be merciful to the earth by joining in the fight against the indiscriminate destruction of the environment which had become a nuisance to society.
According to them the abusing of the earth, should be a worry to all and appealed to all to be merciful to the earth by avoiding the unprecedented destruction of the environment.
The CMA members reminded Catholics that all including CMA members that charged with the protection of the environment should know that the environment is God’s handiwork and protecting was an indication of being faithful to God.
They, therefore, urged the Christian Mothers and all women in the Catholic Church to become ambassadors of clean environment in their homes, work places and Parishes.
He called on national authorities to find ways of stopping the degradation of the environment and allow the law that prevented the destruction of the environment to effectively work.
They also entreated the authorities charged with protecting the natural resources to be up and doing.
This menace have been condemned over the years by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
In a Communique issued on Friday, November 13, 2015 at the end of their Annual Plenary Assembly at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, the Bishops said “We regret to note once again the persistent pollution of our water bodies, the littering of plastic waste everywhere, the careless felling of trees in our forests and savannah area and the rampant illegal mining (galamsey) operations in our towns and villages.”
At the time, the Bishops of Ghana welcomed the idea of the National Sanitation Day on every first Saturday of the month as laudable and commendable and appeal to all Catholics and all Ghanaians to actively participate in this exercise as a Christian duty and a civic responsibility.
“We urge all Ghanaians to acquire the habit, not only to clean up our surroundings but most importantly let us all learn how not to make our environment dirty in the first place.
“We also strongly recommend the recent encyclical of Pope Francis on the care of creation called “Laudato Si’ ” to our Catholic faithful and all Ghanaians because it provides a good resource for all, but most especially, policy makers on the care of our environment.
According to the Bishops Ghanaians could certainly do with more education on the care of the environment, insisting that all the Laity who are charged with the protection of the environment should know that the environment is God’s handiwork.
By Damian Avevor
