Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences at the Vatican, His Eminence Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, has urged President Akufo-Addo and the two leading presidential candidates to draw inspiration from their encounters with Pope Francis.
Speaking at the IDEG High-Level Forum 2024 on Thursday, October 10, Cardinal Turkson emphasized that as Ghana approaches the December 7 polls, these leaders should reflect on their interactions with the Pope and let those experiences influence their thoughts and actions.
He specifically advised Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to allow Pope Francis’s teachings to guide their conduct.
Cardinal Turkson underscored the Pope’s remarkable qualities, values, and virtues, which prioritize peace, respect for human dignity, and the well-being of all individuals while rejecting conflict and hatred.
By urging Ghana’s leaders to follow Pope Francis’ example, Cardinal Turkson promotes a leadership approach that emphasizes the common good and the principles of compassion, empathy, and understanding.
“The three protagonists, the three leaders [Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and Mahama], they visited Pope Francis, and they are the ones I’m inviting to come away with some of the values and virtues they experienced from their engagements with the Pope.
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“And it’s one of peace, it’s one of respect for the dignity of a human person. It’s one of not putting any institutional structure over the dignity of any human person. But putting the human person first. It’s one therefore of cordial relationship and harmony and not one of conflict and hatred.
“I want to invite the protagonist, our going President [Akufo-Addo] and the two incoming Presidents to just take the cue, draw some lessons they drew from their visits to Pope Francis and make that influence their conduct. And the leadership of their parties, just as the leadership of the country, whomever, it pleases God to place over this land.”
All three leaders, President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr. Bawumia, and former President Mahama, have previously visited the Pope.
Source: Ebenezer Junior Arthur
