Commotion At Christ-The-King Church

…Over Appointment Of Non-Practising Catholic As Parish Chair

The appointment of a perceived non-practising Catholic, Mr. Lionel Van Lare Dosoo, into a Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) higher office, has sparked off high tension among a section of the flock at The Christ The King Catholic Church in Accra, THE SUN can reveal today.

The genesis of the confusion that is gradually creeping into The Christ The King Parish can be traced to the doorsteps of the parish Priest, Rt. Rev. Father Andrews Campbell who, in the midst of abundance, opted to nominate a non-communicant member Mr. Dosoo into the Parish Pastoral Council.

Insiders told THE SUN that the nomination of Dooso into the Council was against the laws governing the Catholic faith, which has the characteristic of frowning on non-practising Catholic to hold office in the Church.

According to insiders even though Dosoo is known in many years as member of the Church his marital status has made him a non-practising Catholic which the laws governing the church does not allow him to hold or come closer to any parish office.

Reacting to the concerns of the flock, Rev. Campbell told THE SUN late last year that he did not breach any Catholic law by nominating Dosoo, who eventually became the vice-chairman and now the chairman of the council.

He told THE SUN that what is more important was that before the Parish Council was inaugurated, Dosoo was a practising Catholic. When asked if it was proper to fast-track Dosoo’s marriage before inauguration of the council in January Rev Campbell said, due to the Christmas holidays, the usual third banns could not be announced before the marriage took place.

However, insiders told THE SUN that Rev Campbell claimed he had special dispensation from the Archbishop Palmer Buckle to fast-track the marriage.

However another school of thought accused Rev Campbell of double standards and selective justice among members of the parish. It is believed that when Rev Campbell took over last year, he started ridiculing some choristers who were non-communicants and as a result, some of the affected members had since stopped singing.

The paper gathered that as part of an attempt to fast-track Dosoo’s marriage, a lot of lay-down basic rules were thrown to the dogs because, he (Dosoo) was never made to face the marriage counselors in the Church. “Why did Rev Campbell fast-track those members who were ridiculed if it is not selective justice,” an ardent member asked.

When the paper contacted Dooso at press time, he refused to comment on the issue insisting that it was his personnel matter. “When you spoke to Rev Campbell he told you everything. Why then do you want to speak to me again? This is between me, my Pastor and God. We are not in court for you to ask me what is my take on the issue”, Dosoo asked sarcastically.

Even though the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) is not explicitly mentioned in the documents of Vatican Council II, the theological principles, of PPC is to assist pastors to achieve the cooperation of the parishioners and staff, in the task of carrying out the mission of the Church at the Parish level.

Background information has it that nomination into the Pastoral Council was done on November 10, 2010 and formally inaugurated in early January 2011 after Rev. Campbell had legitimized the nomination of vice-chairman Dosoo which has since sparked tension in the Church.

THE SUN

JUNE 4 PROPONENTS ARE MOST GUILTY -Pratt

Kwesi Pratt Jnr, Managing Editor of The Insight newspaper says if the principles applied by the apostles of June 4th 1979 for the killings of some Ghanaians were to be applied today as a yardstick in administering justice in Ghana, none of the living trumpeters of the so-called revolution could escape the capital punishment and bitter ordeal they meted out to fellow Ghanaians.

According to Mr. Pratt the principles the adherents of June 4th propagated then has been sidestepped and instead, were now doing worse things as compared to the offence they accused others of and got them killed for.

Speaking on Peace FM’s CURRENT AFFAIRTS programme Kokrokoo on Friday hosted by Kwame Sefa-Kaye, Mr. Pratt noted that after 32 years of what was called a revolution some of the architects such as Major (Rtd) Baah Achamfour is currently living in miserable, squalid conditions and in rented apartment at Madina, a suburb of Accra, while others such as Lance Corporal Peter Tashiru and others are also struggling with life.

However he said, there are other members who used the same June 4th to better their lives and have enriched their lives so life. Mr. Pratt observed that, what led to the brutalities and the strip of women which was dubbed in local parlance as EYE KANEA EYE HAAN cannot be said to be a revolution or a good thing for people to celebrate.

Mr. Pratt noted that once some of the originators of the June 4th insurgence had apologised for the excesses, there was the need for Ghanaian to move on and stop glorifying June 4 year in and year out.

THE SUN

GOV’T URGED TO SCRUTINIZE CHURCH ACTIVITIES

Pastor J. Osei O wusu

Following the recent involvement of some professed men of God in despicable practices, the senior pastor in charge of the Holy Spirit Church at Akorem in Kumasi , Pastor J. Osei Owusu has suggested that, despicable and unfortunate acts in the house of God could be stemmed if government wades into to scrutinize the activities of the churches .

He has expressed the need for pragmatic efforts to be taken by the state to monitor the activities of the churches so that, the self-acclaimed men of God hiding behind the Bible as well as freedom of worship as enshrines n the 1992 constitutions of the country, engage in detestable practices. .

According to him, most of the self-appointed pastors have taken advantage of these to misconduct themselves, thereby dragging the image of Christianity in the mud.

Pastor Osei Owusu, who spoke to this reporter in an interview believed that if government takes measures to scrutinize people who want to become pastors and issue out certificates to them, it would help to know their true identities and locations so that severe action can be taken against them anytime they misconducted themselves.

He said, many are the pastors of today who have a chain of accolades therefore making it difficult for the public to identify their real names. “I wish the government steps in immediately to bring this situation under control, where these professed men of God have been engaging in sexual promiscuity with the wives of others and even to the extent of minors. I hope if a proper mechanism is developed to mount a surveillance checks on them, it could offer a sort of relief to genuine pastor”, he stated.

The renowned radio preacher urged chiefs who are custodians of the land to collaborate with the MMDAs to make this issue one of national concern adding that, the recent sexual escapees among men are indications of the fulfillment of the Bible.

He wandered how a man of God could insert his finger into the private part of a married woman under the guise of giving her direction to exorcize evil spirits. Pastor Osei Owusu blamed the orthodox churches for not leading a crusade against these abominable practices which have become a fashion among some men of God

The Sun