THE President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference has challenged members of the Noble Order of the Knights and Ladies of Marshall to speak out on national issues that can undermine the country.
“All too often, we know that politically things are not going well in our country, but we fail to speak out. We fear for our skin. We need to have courage to speak when necessary,” Most Rev Joseph Osei-Bonsu said at the launch of the 90th Anniversary celebration of the Order in Accra on Saturday, October 31, 2015 at the Holy Spirit Cathedral.
He said Marshallans wielded two swords to symbolize their role as defenders of the church and its hierarchy.
“But if you are afraid to speak out when the Church is attacked, then what is the justification for carrying swords and escorting bishops and priests to and from Church?,” he asked.
He rallied members of the Order to take their civic and political duties serious saying “as citizens of the nation, Marshallans have every right to be involved in the political life of the country.”
“You should join political parties, take part in voting, seek key positions in political parties, in the government, and district assemblies. If you refuse to vote, or show indifference to political issues, others will vote and take decisions which will affect you for good or ill,” he said.
Tackle corruption
Most Rev Osei-Bonsu, who is also the Supreme Spiritual Director of the Order, descended heavily on the level of corruption in all spheres of the Ghanaian society and charged members of the Order to tackle the canker.
“If there is corruption, it is largely because people, including Marshallans, are not acting with integrity wherever they are. If people were guided in their consciences by integrity and honesty, corruption will drastically reduce, and our world will be a better place than it is today,” he said.
While urging members of the Order to champion the cause of justice, he also urged them to be concerned about social issues and try to liberate themselves and others in the society who lived in the bondage of ignorance, superstition and unnecessary fears and traditional customs that oppress people.
Programmes line up
The Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, Most Rev Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle, who launched the an
niversary, urged members of the Order to protect the sanctity of marriage.
The Archbishop urged married Christians to proclaim the good news of marriage saying,”it is time for married couple to take up the gospel of the family and proclaim marriage as a vocation.”
He commended the Order for its works over the last 90 years.
Use social media to engage the youth
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, who represented President John Mahama, commended the group for its social protection role over the years.
She urged the Order to marshal forces around the theme of the celebrations “The Marshallan and the New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Faith” to overcome the challenge of how to sustain and increase the interest of the younger generation in the group while effectively blending the youth dynamism with conservation of the older generation.
“You should make effective use of social media and modern ICT tools to engage more proactively with the youth,” she added.
Order to establish microfinance
The Supreme Knight of the Order, Sir Kt Ernest Amoako-Arhen, announced that the group was in the process of establishing a financial institution to be known as Fraternity Microfinance company.
That aside, he said, the Order was also currently constructing a 30-acre rubber plantation at Samanhu, near Tarkwa in the Western Region.
Write up by W/Bro Albert Salia
Fact Sheet
*The Order, a Catholic- friendly organisation, was established in November 1926 in the then Gold Coast.
*The founders of the society chose the name Knights of Marshall to immortalise Sir James Marshall, a British colonial judge and a Catholic layman through whose persistence the church, which had almost gone extinct, was re-established in the Gold Coast in 1880.