Help End Social Vices - Mills Tells Churches

Accra,(Greater Accra) 27 Oct.

Accra,(Greater Accra) 27 Oct. Vice-President John Evans Atta Mills today urged the Church to launch a campaign that will help to stem the rising tide of social and economic ills. ''I refer to the canker of embezzlement of large sums of state money, drug abuse, economic sabotage, teenage pregnancy, armed robbery and other crimes which have bedevilled our society,'' he said. Prof. Mills was opening the Fifth West African Partners-In- Mission (PIM) Consultation and Provincial Synod of the Anglican Church in Accra. PIM is a cooperation between the Anglican Church in Anglophone West Africa and their counterparts in England, Canada and the United States. Its aims include forging a spirit of unity among the Anglican partner-churches world-wide. The 10-day consultation, being attended by about 50 delegates is under the theme: ''Bear Ye One Another's Burden.'' Prof. Mills said the Church and the State share the common concern of seeking the welfare of the people and asked the Church to criticise government when it goes wrong. Prof. Mills said Church leaders in Ghana should join hands with the government in shaping the destiny of the nation as is done in many other countries. ''It is important that the relationship between the Church and the State should be cordial all the time. ''There have been cases in the histories of certain nations where religion was looked upon as an enemy or threat to the powers that be .... fortunately for us in this country, we do not have this problem ....,'' he said. Archbishop Robert Okine, of Koforidua and the Provincial Archbishop of West Africa, gave an overview of the state of affairs on the continent and said Africa in general is at war with itself. He classified the problems into three - political, socio-economic and ecclesiastical. The political scene is characterized by conflicts, injustices, violation of human rights and mismanagement of public office while genocide and military adventurism have led to the destruction of democratic systems. ''This resulted in a massive and increasing refugee problem with its attendant consequences of hunger and sickness...''