The Catholic Archdiocese of Accra has initiated a protest march against illegal mining, commonly referred to as galamsey, following a “Service of Preparation” held at the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
Taking place today, Friday, October 11, 2024, the event drew together Catholic congregants and environmental advocates from across the capital.
During the service, Rev. Father Godwin Fiawoyi, SVD, called upon the congregation for divine intervention in combating the environmental degradation linked to illegal mining.
He encouraged attendees to stay committed to advocating for the protection of Ghana’s natural resources.
Participants, including environmental activists and members of the “Crusaders Against Galamsey” group, gathered at the Cathedral with placards demanding an end to illegal mining activities.
Police officers were on hand to ensure the peaceful demonstration followed its designated route.
Emmanuel Wilson Jnr, the chief crusader of the “Crusaders Against Galamsey” group, highlighted that while the president’s directive for military involvement and cooperation with small-scale miners may provide temporary relief, a total ban on all mining activities is essential for safeguarding Ghana’s environment.
An anonymous Reverend Father, who identified himself as an environmentalist, emphasized that the protest is driven solely by a commitment to environmental protection and is not politically motivated.
This protest is part of ongoing efforts by religious and civil society organizations to intensify the campaign against galamsey, which has inflicted considerable environmental damage across the nation.
Following the service, participants began their march, proudly displaying their placards.
The Bishop of the Konongo-Mampong Diocese of the Catholic Church in Ghana, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, has berated the Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, for saying that Catholics are free to join the Freemasons.
Alexander Afenyo Markin, who revealed that he is a member of the fraternal society, the Freemasons, said that the teachings and values of the organisation do not conflict with his Catholic principles and upbringing.
Speaking to Bola Ray on Starr Chat, the legislator said that freemasonry teaches its followers about God and the principles of life.
“I am a mason, and I have not been sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Freemasonry is a fraternal society that believes in God Almighty and follows certain principles that guide a man’s life, and it does not run counter with my beliefs as a Catholic. President Kufuor is a Mason and a Catholic,” he stated.
Reacting to this in an article in the Catholic Standard, Most Rev Joseph Osei-Bonsu, said that the MP’s views on the Catholic Church and the Freemasons are unfortunate.
According to the bishop, the Catholic Church’s teaching frowns on freemasonry since the fraternal society started in 1717.
“In recent times, the Member of Parliament for Effutu in the Central Region, Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, in a live radio interview, stated that he is a proud member of the Lodge, and his church, the Catholic Church, does not frown on its members joining the Brotherhood.
“It is unfortunate that the Honourable Member of Parliament does not know the teaching of his Church on this matter. Contrary to what Honourable Alexander Afenyo Markin believes, Freemasonry is not approved by the Catholic Church. Indeed, Catholics are forbidden to become Freemasons.
“The Catholic Church has opposed the Lodge nearly since the birth of modern Freemasonry in 1717. Since the founding of the Grand Lodge of England, eleven popes have explicitly condemned Freemasonry or Masonic principles,” excerpts from the bishops’ article read.
Read the article below:
EXCERPTS FROM CAN A CATHOLIC BE A FREEMASON BY MOST REV. JOSEPH OSEI-BONSU BISHOP OF KONONGO-MAMPONG
INTRODUCTION
Many people regard Freemasonry as a benevolent and charitable organization, somehow similar to the Rotary and Lions Clubs, the Knights of Marshall, the Knights of St. John International or the Knights of Columbus. Undoubtedly, it is for this reason that some Catholics join this fraternity.
In recent times, the Member of Parliament for Effutu in the Central Region, Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, on a live radio interview stated that he is a proud member of the Lodge, and his church, the Catholic Church, does not frown on its members joining the Brotherhood. He added, “I am a mason and I have not been sanctioned by the Catholic Church. Freemasonry is a fraternal society that believes in God Almighty and follows certain principles that guide a man’s life and it does not run counter with my beliefs as a Catholic” (https://newsghana.com.gh/is-afenyo-markin-a-true-catholic/)
It is unfortunate that the Honourable Member of Parliament does not know the teaching of his Church on this matter. Contrary to what Honourable Alexander Afenyo Markin believes, Freemasonry is not approved by the Catholic Church. Indeed, Catholics are forbidden to become Freemasons.
FREEMASONRY AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
The Catholic Church has opposed the Lodge nearly since the birth of modern
Freemasonry in 1717. Since the founding of the Grand Lodge of England, eleven
popes have explicitly condemned Freemasonry or Masonic principles. These popes are: Pope Clement XII (28 April 1738); Pope Benedict XIV (18 May, 1751); Pius VII (13 September 1821); Pope Leo XII (13 March 1825); Pope Pius VIII (24 May 1829); Pope Gregory XVI (15 August 1832); Pius IX (between 1846 and 1873); Leo XIII (15 February 1882; 20 April 1884; 1887; 15 October 1890; 18 December 1892; 20 June 1894); Pope Pius IX (1907); Pope Pius X (1907); Pope Pius XI (1924).
A recent condemnation of Freemasonry is contained in the “Declaration on
Masonic Associations” issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 26 November 1983, declared that Masonic principles are irreconcilable with the doctrine of Church, and that Catholic membership in Freemasonry remains forbidden.
The Church’s position is that Freemasonry is a religion in its own right with its own doctrines, which are not compatible with Christian beliefs. For this reason, one
cannot simultaneously be a Christian and be a Freemason. What it teaches about the following cannot be reconciled with Christian beliefs, i.e., God, Christ, the denial of the role of grace and Christ in salvation, morality, its attitude towards the Bible, eschatology, the masonic oaths and the notion of rebirth and enlightenment. For this reason, one cannot simultaneously be a Catholic and a Freemason, just as one cannot be a Catholic and be Muslim, a Hindu, a Shintoist or a practitioner of African Traditional Religion. One will have to make a choice between Catholicism and Freemasonry.
CONCLUSION
Let me conclude by drawing attention to the DECLARATION OF THE GHANA CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE ON SANCTIONS FOR CATHOLICS WHO JOIN MASONIC ASSOCIATIONS, issued on 7 May 2009. Among other things, it says:
1) Any Catholic who is a member of any Masonic Association and participates in its programmes, or promotes its views, or holds any office therein, and refuses to renounce such membership despite at least one warning (cf. Canon 1347) is to be punished with an interdict (cf. Canon 1347), that is:
a. He is not allowed to receive Holy Communion and other sacraments (cf. Canon 1332).
b. He is prohibited to act as sponsor in Baptism and Confirmation.
c. He is not to be admitted as a member of parish or diocesan structures.
d. He is to be denied funeral rites, unless he shows some signs of repentance before death (Canon 1184 §1, no. 3).
e. Where funeral rites are allowed by the bishop, no Masonic service shall be allowed in the Church or cemetery immediately before or after the Church rites in order to avoid public scandal (cf. Canon 1184, §1, no. 3, and Canon 1374)
Any Catholic who is a convinced member of a Masonic Association and notoriously adheres to the Masonic vision is already considered to have incurred automatic excommunication (cf. Canon 1364). This means that the censures described in Canon 1331 automatically take full effect on this person. According to Canon 1331 §1, an excommunicated person is forbidden:
I. To have any ministerial participation in the celebration of the Eucharist or in any other ceremonies whatsoever of public worship.
II. To celebrate the sacraments and sacramentals and to receive the sacraments.
III. To discharge any ecclesiastical offices, ministries, or functions whatsoever, or to place acts of governance.
It is possible that some Catholics joined Freemasonry without knowing that it is forbidden to Catholics. Such people are advised to see their priests or their bishops who will assist them to renounce Freemasonry and avoid incurring the sanctions that will be imposed on them if they do not renounce Freemasonry.
Tens of thousands of Catholic faithful gathered in Fatima, Portugal for the traditional pilgrimage.
But this year, their prayers and thoughts are also with the Portuguese Catholic church which has been in the spotlight due to cases of alleged sexual abuse but also possible cover-up maneuvers.
One of the clerics targeted has been Bishop José Ornelas, a senior official who has been named in investigations involving alleged cover-ups of sex abuse by priests. Earlier in the day Ornelas said his conscience was clear.
The head of the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference denied any wrongdoing or improper conduct in the cases dating from 2011 and 2014. Ornelas also presides over Portugal’s world-famous shrine at Fatima.
“I’m not worried,” Ornelas said of the investigations. But he conceded about what happened years ago that “these kinds of cases are handled differently now.”
He didn’t elaborate. Ornelas, authorities recently revealed, is being investigated by Portugal’s attorney general’s office on suspicion he covered up for abuser priests in Mozambique, a former Portuguese colony. He also faces accusations he covered up for an abusive priest in northern Portugal several years later.
“There was no cover-up” in those cases, Ornelas told a televised press conference in Fatima, 130 kilometres (80 miles) north of Lisbon, the capital. Ornelas said he took “appropriate measures” at the time. He said he did not want to comment at length on the cases because “it’s time for justice to take its course.”
Scandals over alleged child sex abuses in the Portuguese church have been swirling for months.
A lay committee looking into historic child sex abuse in the Portuguese Catholic Church said Tuesday the problem in the past had been “widespread” and on some occasions reached “truly endemic” proportions.
The panel has compiled a list of 424 alleged victims. Before the committee started its work in January, senior church officials had claimed that only a handful of cases had occurred. Ornelas acknowledged that the victims found by the committee so far represent “a big number.”
He urged other victims to come forward and speak to the committee, which the Portuguese Bishops’ Conference created. The lay committee aims to provide a voice and dignity to the victims and “ensure that something that never should have happened, never happens again,” he said.
Catholics currently outnumber Protestants inNorthern Ireland, which might be used to strengthen aspirations for a united Ireland.
According to the statistics for 2021, Catholics make up 45.7% of the population, while Protestants make up 43.5%.
A decade ago the census showed Protestants outnumbered Catholics by 48% to 45%, after falling below 50% for the first time. The shift could drive support moves for a united Ireland.
Last year’s figures also showed that 9.3% of the population belonged to no religion, up from 5.6% in 2011.
Northern Ireland was established in 1921 to maintain a pro-British Protestant “unionist” majority as a counterweight to the newly independent and predominantly Catholic Irish state in the south.
At the time the population split was roughly two-thirds Protestant and one-third Catholic.
The census also asked about people’s sense of national identity, with 31.9% saying they were British only and 8% saying they were British and Northern Irish.
The proportion saying they were Irish only was 29.1%, and 19.8% were Northern Irish only.
In the 2011 census, 40% said they were British only, 25% were Irish only and 21% were Northern Irish only.
Colum Eastwood, the leader of the SDLP, the moderate Irish nationalist party, said the shift was “a seminal moment in the history of modern Ireland” that should not be played down.
Sinn Fein MP John Finucane said that “historic change is happening”.
The census also showed a 63.5% increase in the number of people in Northern Ireland with an Irish passport and Brexit is undoubtedly a factor.
