Conscious that Christmas is an important time for reunions and gatherings of families and friends, as well as religious and social celebrations and other festivities, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has implored Ghanaians to continue to exercise utmost precautions to protect themselves and others during celebrations within the festive season.
In a Pastoral Letter issued on December 17 and signed by the Most Rev. Philip Naameh, President of the GCBC, the Bishops asked citizens to always bear in mind that “protection is better than cure,” and that “it pays to be safe than to be sorry.”
“In our celebrations during this Christmas period and beyond, we encourage all Ghanaians to learn to share the little we have with one another,” the Letter noted, adding, “We encourage all citizens to extend deeds of care and love to the most unfortunate ones in our midst-the poor and the needy, the marginalised and the less privileged, including prisoners, street children, mentally handicapped people, widows, orphans.”
The Bishops were of the believe that by so doing, the peace, joy and love which the birth of Jesus Christ brings to the whole world would also be felt by our unfortunate brothers and sisters in Ghana for whom life becomes even more unbearable during these festive occasions.
Dilating on peace with all creation and caring for the environment, they drew the attention of Ghanaians to the fact that peace was not only about tranquility among humans, but also the harmony that exists between humans and all non-human creatures of God which equally have a right to the environment as a home.”
“Unfortunately, for a very long time now, our nation has been confronted with massive environmental degradation and ecological crisis,” they said, adding, “Our natural resources have continuously and carelessly been exploited for economic gains, leading to the current unacceptable levels of pollution and destruction of our arable farmlands and water bodies.”
“As we look forward to the peaceful Kingdom of the Messiah at Christmas wherein creation returns to its original harmonious state, we wish once again to appeal to all Ghanaians as we have done several times in the past, to eschew all selfish, indifferent and irresponsible ways and actions by which we continue to destroy Ghana’s environment,” the Bishops noted.
According to them, in place of these negative attitudes, all must adopt an attitude of care and responsible stewardship towards our environment by living a new ecological lifestyle characterized by simplicity, moderation and sobriety in order to save our country’s environment for today and the future.
On towards the New Year, 2022 and Living in Peace and Love amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, the members of the GCBC in their December 17 Pastoral Letter reminded all that “existing regulations and protocols meant to contain and minimize the impact of the COVID-19 are still pertinent and ought to be followed religiously even if these tend to limit some of our rights and freedoms.”
Since the beginning of last year and throughout this year, which is now ending, Ghanaians have tried to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, which had ravaged many globally. This, the Bishops felt no one can overlook the negative impact, which the pandemic had wrecked on the religious, social and economic lives in Ghana as elsewhere in the world.
