At the Arrupe Jesuit Institute’s “Faith in the Public Sphere” programme themed: “Christians as Citizens, not Spectators” speakers charged Christians to be bold citizens and not act as spectators if they want development.
Held on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at the Christ the King Parish at Cantonments, Accra, it attracted many people who have interest governance and politics.
The “Faith in the Public Sphere” series, is a public engagement that aims at interfacing Christian faith with Ghana’s political establishment and civil society.
The March 7 event is the fifth in the series, dubbed: “Christians as Citizens, not Spectators”, paraphrasing a statement made by Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, during his inaugural address on January 7, 2017.
It was chaired by Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee, a well-known figure on Ghana’s socio-political landscape, who once served as Secretary of Education in the Rawlings PNDC era and currently the Executive Director of Salt and Light Ministry, a Christian institution.
Speakers at the public forum were Rev. Fr. Ebenezer Akesseh, Parish Priest of Christ the King Parish, a Moral Theologian, who was the Keynote Speaker spoke on “The Common Good”; Mr. Samson Lardy Anyenini, a Legal Practitioner, host of a radio current affairs programme and 2019 Ghana Journalist of the year, who spoke on “Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.”
Other Speakers were Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Member of Parliament for Ketu South, “Care of the Poor and Marginalised”; Dr. Antoinette Tsiboe-Darko, a Research Fellow at the University of Ghana, who is also Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, a political think tank, and a member of the AJI’s Advisory Board “Care of Our Common Home and Mr. Martin Kpebu, a Legal Practitioner “Good Governance.”
The interventions of the panellists were well received and responded to by the audience, which provided insightful perspectives on what had been shared.
The AJI aims to serialize and disseminate the major points that emerged from this event and continue with this series in other parts of Ghana, beginning with Cape Coast.
In that traditional hub of learning, AJI aims to focus on the theme of “Achieving Civic Virtue and Moral Excellence through Education.”
The aim simply is to provide a platform for informed perspectives to be heard on national hot-button issues related to governance, economics, education, healthcare, the environment etc., all the time guided by the principles of Christian social doctrine, such as human dignity, solidarity, the option for the poor and the common good.
Following the church’s new synodal method, characterized by active listening, intentional speaking, and respect for each participant’s input, this platform, styled as a durbar, open forum or town hall meeting, targets the formation of consciences to engender actions – personal and collective, simple yet far-reaching – that exemplify civic and Christian virtue.
The achievement of this objective through this platform will increasingly foster the realization of Christians who are citizens, not spectators.
