Minister of Communications, Dr. Omane Boamah has chided the President of Ghana Catholic Bishop’s Conference, Most Rev Joseph Osei Bonsu for questioning President Mahama’s decision to welcome suspected terrorists into Ghana.
According to him, the Bishop’s response to the president’s call does not reflect the position of the Bishops Conference.
“I’m not sure the Catholic Bishops Conference sent him to insult the President; I think it is his individual position,” he stressed.
Bishop Osei Bonsu in an apparent response to the call on Ghanaians to show compassion to ex-convicts, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby urged government to balance it with common sense.
In his opinion, if compassion mattered so much in issues of criminality, then Ghana’s prisoners must be released.
But on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen programme Wednesday, Dr. Omane Boamah expressed shock at the position taken by the Bishop in particular and Ghanaians in general.
He recalled Pope John Paul II forgave his would-be assassin, Mehmet Ali and managed to secure his freedom from prison in 2000 after he shot him four times on Wednesday, 13 May 1981, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican City.
Also, the Communications Minister indicated even Pope Francis has made compassion a central theme in his book, “The Name of God is Mercy”.
Portions of the book released on Tuesday reads: “The Church does not exist to condemn people but to bring about an encounter with the visceral love of God’s mercy,” adding that “humanity is wounded, deeply wounded”.
Dr. Omane Boamah is convinced the seeming confusion about government’s decision to accept the terror suspects in Ghana is because the issue has been discussed within the context of fear and panic.
He called on the Catholic Bishops and the citizenry to have a faith-based understanding and approach to the issues involving the settling of the Yemeni nationals in Ghana for two years.
Source: adomonline
