Tamale, 10th Aug. 1999 - The Right Reverend Lucas Abadamlora, Catholic Bishop of Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese, has said the cultivation of spiritual virtues is essential for achieving unity among Christians.
He, therefore, called on Christians to allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives to foster unity.
Bishop Abadamlora was speaking at the inauguration mass of the Navrongo/Bolgatanga Diocesan Catholic Community (Nabodicom) in Tamale at the weekend.
The Community is made up of about 3,000 members of the diocese resident in Tamale. The inauguration was to give the community "official recognition to foster unity and ensure the spiritual and material development" of its members. Bishop Abadamlora stressed that without the spiritual virtues no human effort, be it political, monetary influence or the quest for knowledge, could achieve unity.
He called on members of the community to be "open up to the Holy Spirit", saying ''as God's people, we need the Holy Spirit to guarantee our unity". Bishop Abadamlora said problems like ethnicity, pride, jealousy, envy and discrimination arise amongst Christians because they "refuse to cast off their old selves", adding that unless they change, they "risk being tarnished by such evil forces".
To be able to do this, he said, Christians should cultivate and adopt a reconciliatory attitude, marked by love, peace and a forgiving spirit. Mr John Agobre, secretary of the Community, said its main aim is to foster unity, love, promote spiritual development and establish a close relationship with the mother diocese. In a message read at the function, the Archbishop of Tamale, Reverend Gregory Kpiebaya, called on the members to see themselves as a seed planted by God in the church.
He said the inauguration is a sign of the spirit inviting the group to go out and make Jesus known to others. Bishop Abadamlora swore in a ten-member executive headed by Mr Dan Braimah of the Ministry of Health. The members pledged to promote the common good of all members.
