Concerned Clergy opposes stance of Catholic Bishops on ex-Gitmo detainees
Members of a group calling itself the Concerned Clergy and Christians of Ghana (CCCG) have kicked against the decision taken by the leadership of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference regarding the acceptance of the two ex-Guantanamo detainees in Ghana.
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According to the group, the decision taken by the leadership of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference to protest against the acceptance of the two ex-Guantanamo detainees was needless.
This was contained in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Rev. Augustus Anim, the Head Pastor of the Shalom Evangelical Ministry.
According to the CCCG, the claims by the Catholic Bishops that they would lead a massive demonstration against the government if it remained headstrong on their call to send the ex-Gitmo detainees back was unfortunate.
The statement asked, “Should a man of God condemn someone, when God has not condemned him or her [Luke 6: 37] or have the Clergy or the so-called men of God forgotten about their Bible which says blessed are the merciful and the peacemakers?[Mathew 5: 7, 9]”
“We are of the view that the inability of the leaderships of the various religious groups to encourage Christians through relentless prayer is creating anxiety among the citizenry,” it said.
No issue with public concerns
The Concerned Clergy said they had no issue with concerns being expressed by the public. However, they said they believed that the clergymen should not be the ones fuelling and fronting this charge.
The statement added that Ghana was known to be a peaceful nation. Therefore, “when persons who are supposed to be men of God are making statements, they should be mindful that it is worrying”.
“We wish to state that it is Godly expression of Christian virtues to accept these brothers into the country,” the CCCG said.
The statement added that Christians should continuously believe that God loves everybody, including sinners.
The group, therefore, called on the Catholic Bishops to put their political interest aside and see to the welfare of the detainees who are seeking refuge in Ghana.
They indicated that they did not have any problem with the politicians, social commentators, pressure groups and other civil society organisations calling on the government to return the two ex-detainees.
“For the Clergymen and religious groups who are supposed to preach peace and compassion, to be hopping from one radio station to another championing the deportation of the ex-detainees is not only unfortunate but also disappointing,” the statement said.