‘Church must get involved in national politics’
The Archbishop Emeritus of the Kumasi Catholic Archdiocese, Most Rev. Peter K. Sarpong, has urged the Church to encourage its faithful to get involved in national politics.
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He said Catholics who felt called by God should not hesitate to stand for elections, reminding them of Greek philosopher Aristotle’s saying that “the price which wise men pay for not taking an interest in politics is that they subject themselves to a government of fools.”
Most Rev. Sarpong said this on Tuesday when he delivered a lecture on the topic: “The Church and politics: The Ghanaian experience,” at Adabraka in Accra.
The lecture, the first in the series, was organised by the Catholic Institute of Business and Technology (CIBT).
Involvement in politics
Most Rev. Sarpong, however, explained that getting involved in politics did not mean that one should be enrolled in a political party. He added: “Whatever happens, Catholics should not refrain from voting. Let us realise that refusal to vote for political reasons is itself a very highly political decision. Catholics who feel called by God should not hesitate to stand for elections.”
He said the Church should not stay away from politics and that “the church has no alternative but to involve itself in the total liberation of the whole human person; and if such a promotion of the dignity of the human person is tantamount to dabbling in political issues, then the task of the church is political, and she is proud to perform it.”
He said if the Church would not enter the arena of politics, “lest she be accused of doing politics, then how does she defend her own rights such as freedom of worship and assembly and freedom to insist that her members send their children to schools of their choice, and indeed, defend the rights of the whole of humanity for which she stands.”
Most Rev. Sarpong said the church must defy all odds in favour of the poor, must always support the underprivileged, must educate the masses to be aware of their rights and duties. He assured them that they had the power to salvage their dignity.
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The Canon Law
He charged the leadership of the church to remain neutral, advice, encourage and support good policies, and urged them to ask their faithful to vote against bad policies.
Multi-party democracy
Touching on his personal opinion on multi-party democracy, he said the multi-party system, as practised in Ghana, was the bane of democracy, fair-play, tolerance and unity.
“Our so-called democracy has been characterised by deceit, impossible promises and unrealistic undertakings It has become a system in which an individual’s friends and relatives have monopoly over certain jobs. In multi-party system, elections are essential, but this is what happens in elections – condemnation, excessive canvassing, lobbying, persuading and pressuring to win votes. Bitterness is expressed against rival candidates.