Catholic Youth Council holds AGCM

Tamale, Sept. 15, GNA - The Most Reverend Gabriel Justice Anokye, the Auxiliary Catholic Bishop of Kumasi, has called harnessing of the enormous energy, talent and potentials of the youth to sustain the development agenda of both the church and state. He said the church should encourage the government to commit more resources in the area of youth capacity building and employment and the church must also form, inform and transform the youth to be responsible citizens.

Most Rev. Anokye who is also the Episcopal Chairman for the Youth, was opening the 33rd Annual General Council Meeting (AGCM) of the Ghana National Catholic Youth Council (GHANCYC) in Tamale on Friday. The four-day meeting, which would provide a forum for the delegates to deliberate on issues affecting Catholic youth, is on the theme: "The Catholic Youth, the Church and the Society; Ghana @ 50. Bishop Anokye urged the youth to reflect on the directive principles of the Ghana National Catholic Youth Council Policy to see how best they could put their talents and potentials at the disposal of the church and the society.

He expressed sympathy for flood victims in the three northern regions, saying: "We commend the victims of the flood in the three regions to God in our daily prayers". "What has befallen our brothers and sisters from the three northern regions is not the problem of only the stricken areas but a problem for all humanity".

Most Rev. Anokye appealed to the government to ensure that the five billion cedis it had voted for the three regions really went to help relieve the victims of their plight.

The Chairman of GHANCYC, Mr Clement Amankwah-Bonsu, cautioned the youth to desist from committing such crimes as "instant mob justice" and "contact killing" because the youth were perceived as the prime suspects.

He said while instant mob justice was claiming the lives of innocent people it was also preventing the law enforcement agencies from getting vital information. "It is rather the law that must take its due course".

Mr. Amankwah-Bonsu commended the government for the new education reforms and appealed to government to review the decision to exclude religious and moral education as a subject. In a speech read on his behalf Most Rev. Gregory Kpiebaya, Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Tamale, appealed to the youth to go into the communities and mobilise the people for national development. "You must do something concrete to promote the country's development agenda instead of blaming others for your predicaments". Archbishop Kpiebaya stressed the need for discipline saying: "Discipline is the bedrock of development". He urged the youth to help promote good governance, rule of law and respect for human rights and they should desist from lawlessness, discrimination and ethnic tendencies likely to fuel conflicts. 15 Sept 07