Fight Prevailing Spirits of Bribery, Corruption– Archbishop Sarpong to Catholic Lay Professionals
2020-12-18
The Most Rev. Peter K. Sarpong, Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Kumasi has emphasised on the need for lay Catholic professionals to appreciate the promiscuous nature of the spirit of bribery and corruption in the fabric of our society.
“Are catholic professionals who take part in bribery and corruption not aware that these dangerous practices are inherently self-destructive, dehumanizing and anti-best in humanity?” he asked.
He was addressing an audience as the keynote speaker at the December Dialogue, towards a Theology of Catholic lay professionals by providing some indicators at the Christ the King Parish at Cantonment in Accra on Thursday, December 17, 2020.
The programme was organized by the Arrupe Jesuit Institut, a Catholic think-tank in Accra in conjunction with the Catholic Professionals’ Guilds.
Archbishop Sarpong called on lay professionals to use their rich fruits of the spirit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control for the good of the Church.
He, however, admonished them to discard the spirit of sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger. They should consider it their duty to eschew lies, intimidation, divorce, and introduce in their place truthfulness.
Saying that the concept of marriage is defined as a union between two people, a man and a woman, he appealed to lay professionals to fight the prevailing spirit of incest, rape, and pedophilia while they introduce the spirit of sacrifice into their lives.
According to the Archbishop Emeritus, since most adult lay professionals are married, they should learn the example of the saints who have preceded them.
Many lay people in Ghana do seriously participate in Christ’s priestly office of righteousness, and they listen to God’s admonition to his people through Moses “Tell my people to be Holy because I myself I am Holy” (Leviticus 19:1).
They do not make gods of things, they should be ashamed of, and the words of incest, murder, stealing and robbery, drug addiction and alcoholism, human trafficking are not found in their Lexicon, the Archbishop said.
On politics, he wondered if Catholics had the sense of God as the source of life, how could Catholic professionals, especially the politicians among them tell lies and seek power by any means, “foul or fair”.
According to him, any action that detracts from the majesty of God, such as murder, adultery, perjury should be stopped and any action such as having mercy on your offender, giving help to those who need it, paying taxes, bring honour to the majesty of God and must be cultivated and practiced.
He urged lay people to understand that, the love of money, the pursuit of power, hollow prestige and false solidarity are the instruments for the building of the kingdom of the ‘devil’ and should be condemned.
Source: Christiana Mensa//Newswatcgh.com