Of problem preachers, predators and perverts in the pulpits
It was an incident that appeared so outrageous that when I saw the headline on a social media platform, I thought it was fake news.
Alas, there was a video to confirm it: a priest in full garb, at what appeared to be a school church service, kissing some female students!
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Evidently this was no chaste or avuncular or brotherly peck on the cheek, but a full kiss planted on the lips of three seemingly disconcerted young women, one after the other!
Yet, incredibly, as seen in the Sunday, August 15, 2021 video, there were cheers and excited shouts from the gathering of students and some parents.
Again, the victims of the unconventional action of the priest, named as Rev Father Balthazar Obeng Larbi, appeared unsure of themselves; and the third girl was clearly reluctant to oblige.
However, the priest gestured to her to remove her mask, grasped her firmly by the shoulder and pulled her closer for the kiss.
He himself had pulled off his mask, which was hanging by one ear.
How, in this COVID-19 era, and despite all the education about safety protocols, could a person in a position of authority and trust over the young, abandon all the masking and social distancing advice to satisfy his own warped agenda?!
Anyway, what kind of religious ceremony would require kissing, that kind of kiss?
What on earth possessed the priest of such a church to see his actions as acceptable – and approved by the behaviour code for chaplains?
Equally unbelievably, why was the congregation evidently cheering him on?
Meaning they saw nothing wrong with it?
But perhaps the unidentified person who shot the film and circulated it on social media, saw everything wrong with it and thus decided to publicize it for the Anglican church and the general public, too, to witness.
Fortunately, the Anglican Church, Ghana leadership took a different view.
As reported by the Daily Graphic of August 18:
“The Anglican priest seen in a viral video allegedly kissing some female students of the St Monica’s College of Education in Mampong in the Ashanti Region, has been temporarily relieved of his duties as the chaplain of the college.
“(On August 17), Rev. Fr Baltharzar Obeng Larbi was directed by management of the college to step aside to facilitate investigations into the matter by the Anglican Church of Ghana.
“The Principal of the College, Rev. Fr. Dr Okyere Korankye, told the Daily Graphic that it would not be ideal for the chaplain to be at post while investigations were underway.
“He has been asked to step aside and also hand over all relevant documents in his care to the principal of the college,”’ he said.
“Social media platforms went ablaze last Monday when a video showing Rev. Fr Larbi kissing three female students of the single-sex college which trains teachers.
“The incident is said to have occurred last Sunday during a ceremony where Rev. Fr Larbi was awarding some deserving students,” the Graphic said.
An Anglican Communion press release, signed by Venerable Dr George Dawson-Ahmoah, Executive Director to the Metropolitan Archbishop of Ghana, stated:
“The attention of the hierarchy of the Anglican Church, Ghana under the leadership of Most Rev’d Dr Cyril Kobina Ben-Smith, has been drawn to a circulating video of a Priest kissing some female students at the St. Monica’s College of Education within the Asante-Mampong Diocese ….
“Thorough investigation has immediately been instituted into the matter and the action of the said Priest would be dealt with in accordance with the norms and values of the Anglican Communion where morality is extremely revered ….
“Meanwhile, all efforts are being made to engage the students concerned through counselling sessions to avert any psychological issues that may arise (as) a result of the viral video,” the release assured.
It would be interesting to find out the identity of the sharp-witted person who filmed the video and posted it on social media.
In my view, a whole lot of people, especially parents and the college, owe the cameraperson a huge debt of gratitude.
That individual has enabled the country, even the world, to witness what otherwise would have been just a gossip item for those who were present at the Mampong ceremony.
The video should prompt a close look at the conduct of some of the people into whose care the youth are entrusted, because some of them could be predators.
Also, it spotlights the highly disturbing practices some of the problem preachers make their followers engage in, which tend to generate questions about the mentality of such congregants.
Truly astonishing is the gullibility of some worshippers.
They put themselves in the clutches of perverts, wolves in sheep clothing who are clearly using the pulpit to enrich themselves.
One hopes that any investigations into the incident will also go into the behaviour of Rev Fr Larbi during his whole tenure as chaplain, and whether students have had occasion to report his behaviour which perhaps the school authorities did not take seriously.
Or, could it be that given the reverence the society has for religious leaders, the students were afraid to report him to the school authorities?
If he was able to kiss the young ladies in front of parents, guests and the staff, who knows what he has been doing when there were no observers?
I found some of the light-hearted comments on the internet regarding the incident quite disappointing.
I wonder how amused those commentators would be if it had involved their daughter or ward.
Commendably, the Anglican Church has stated its intention to arrange for counselling for the students concerned.
But more than that, it appears that there is also need for an assessment of Fr Larbi’s suitability to be a school chaplain, as well as a review of the existing code of conduct for chaplains, or drawing one up if there isn’t.
