The Vicar General of the Saint Thomas Catholic Cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Obuasi, Very Rev. Fr Maxwell Joseph Appiagyei, has expressed concern at the decline in gold production at the Anglogold Ashanti mine.
Apart from the low production of gold affecting the revenue of the country, he said it was also having a serious impact on the social life of the people, as many of the residents were losing their jobs.
He said the situation was not only a worry to the political heads of the community but also the church as well, as its survival depended on the members whose livelihoods were being affected by the continuous decline in the performance of the mine.
The Very Rev. Fr. Appiagyei said this during the homily at the Saint Thomas Catholic Cathedral on the occasion of the celebration of the Sir James Marshall Day by the Knights and Ladies of Marshall, a Catholic-friendly society.
He noted that if the people lost their jobs, they might not be able to come to church and also contribute to the development of its growth “and this could affect the survival of the church”.
He blamed the situation on the failure of people to effectively do their jobs. He, thus, asked the faithful to always be dedicated to their work and discharge their duties to the best of their ability for the growth of their companies.
According to him, if all workers in the country were to be productive and work effectively, many of the problems the country is facing could have been avoided. He asked Christians to live exemplary lives to let Christ reflect in everything they did and draw more souls to Christ.
Shedding light on the celebration, the Regional Grand Knight of the Knights of Marshall, Worthy Brother David Francis Yawkson, said the day was to immortalise the name of Sir James Marshall, the former Chief Justice in the Gold Coast who championed the establishment of the Catholic Church in the country after some 200 years of inactivity.
His persistent letters to the Vatican compelled Rome to send two French priests from the Society of African Missionaries (SMA), who came to reestablish the church in Ghana.
Brother Yawkson also called on members to lead lives worthy of emulation and to effectively propagate the Gospel to others. The members later made a cash donation of an undisclosed amount to the church.
Source: Graphic Online
