Catholic Bishop kick against CSE, call on govt to stop future reintroduction

The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to take concrete steps to prevent future reintroduction of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in any form in Ghana’s education curriculum.

According to the Conference, Ghana already has acceptable sex education in the educational system which was responsive to Ghanaian cultural and moral values adding that it was time for the country to make it position clear and put in place measures to stop some persons and groups from propagating Lesbians Gay BisexualsTranssexuals Queers (LGBTQ).

This was contained in a communique issued on Friday at the end of the Conference’s Annual Plenary Assembly, held at Elmina in the Central Region, which also addressed a number of national issues.

It said the general uproar which greeted the controversial CSE curriculum was indicative of what should be expected when an externally imposed policy is accepted without the adequate engagement of citizens who would be affected by it.

“While we recognize that there are people with these abnormal sexual orientations and request that they be treated and helped, we oppose very strongly any CSE that teaches the acceptance of LGBTQ and same-sex marriage as normal,” the communique added.

On education, the Conference called for a broad national dialogue of relevant stakeholders to review all aspects of the Free Senior High School (SHS) program and challenges associated with the Computerised School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS) to find the best way forward.

The communique expressed concern about the use of Government White Paper to neutralize the works of commissions set up to address certain criminal issues and appealed to the government to implement recommendations of the recent Emile Short Commission, especially those sections which refer to instances of criminality.

It warned about the threat of a steep rise in unemployment among the youth saying it was a veritable national security threat that has to be addressed immediately and urgently with a well-articulated program.

The conference expressed concern about undue interference in the selection, training and operation of security personnel by political parties when in office stating that such practices make personnel ineffective and serve as a conduit to create dissatisfaction among the top-echelon of the Ghana Police Service and Ghana Armed Forces.

It urged the government to institute measures to ensure that persons affected by the financial sector reform recover their investments and protect indigenous financial institutions from being swallowed by international institutions.

The communique called on Ghanaians to respect the rule of law and act in a manner consistent with the tenets of democracy as the country prepares for the 2020 Presidential and parliamentary elections.

“We appeal to Ghanaians to desist from bribery, threats, violence, lies, insults and other evil means to secure any electoral advantage,” it added.

To be able to deal with challenges with climate change and prevent environmental degradation, the conference appealed to Ghanaians to refrain from the exploitation of natural resources that results in the pollution of water bodies and destruction of forest reserves.

It deplored the practice where governments discontinue projects started by their predecessors, which was in breach of Article 35, Clause 7 of the Constitution and appealed to the current government to hasten to complete ongoing projects in the areas of education, health, housing and roads aimed at bringing relief to affected communities.