Christians urged to make a difference in Ghana’s development agenda

Most Reverend Alfred Agyenta, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, has called on Christians in Ghana to make a significant difference in the country’s development agenda.

He observed that Christians formed about 71 per cent of the total population of Ghana, but there were still reservations about how credible their efforts were towards developing the nation and creating a fair and just society.

Most Reverend Agyenta said the country was going through difficult times ranging from the Coronavirus pandemic to the economy among others and people had begun to question the contribution of Christians who formed majority of the population especially in government.

The Bishop made the call in a homily to mark the Silver Jubilee celebration of Our Lady Queen of Africa (OLA) Parish, Bolgatanga.

“As a church, I believe that we are also facing challenges in terms of the number of Christians we have in this country, about 71 per cent, but we are continuously challenged in terms of credibility as believers or Christians.

“And so, sometimes when we are criticized on the way we do things let us sit up because people expect a lot from us and so this can also be very challenging and we need to be serious about it,” he added.

The Bishop said it was imperative for Christians in Ghana to consider the criticisms as wake up calls to boost their efforts at delivering on their mandate and obligation towards achieving a developed society for all.

He said Christians needed to continuously pray and remain united in faith regardless of ethnic sentiments to work together for the total development of the country.

The Bishop said being a true Christian did not exempt them from challenges but there was the need to stand firm to defeat the ills in society including; bribery and corruption which had caused serious losses to the state.

“If you want to live a committed Christian live you will face trouble, nobody should be deceived that Christianity is easy and so let us pray that Jesus Christ may protect us and grant us the courage and strength to continuously persevere because it is only in this vein that we can carry out exactly what the Lord wants us to do,” he stated.

Reverend Father Lawrence Azure, the Parish Priest said, the OLA Parish was carved out of the Sacred Heart Cathedral Parish about 26 years and should have celebrated the 25th Anniversary in 2020, but that was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Parish currently has nine Outstations with a population of over 5,000.

Reverend Father Azure who is also the Vicar General of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese, said the Parish would continue to pursue the path of unity, faith, self-reliance and love that would draw people closer to God and contribute to transforming the lives of the various communities.

The Parish Priest expressed deep gratitude to the founders of the Parish including Msgr Camillo Sarko, Msgr Roger Abotiyuure, Reverend Brother Edwin O’Sullivan and the Congregation of the Holy Spirit- Ghana Province.

Naba Clifford Abagna Asobayire, the Paramount Chief of the Kolgo Traditional Area who represented the Upper East Region House of Chiefs lauded the efforts of the Catholic Church towards the development of the region and appealed to it to continue to pray for the Chiefs to be able to resolve disputes amicably.