ACCRA, Ghana (ChurchMilitant.com) – Catholic bishops and other religious leaders in Ghana are calling on the West to stop imposing its ideologies on the African country.
Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference
On Thursday, members of three Christian ecumenical councils in Ghana released a joint statement asking the United States and other Western countries to “stop the incessant attempts to impose unacceptable foreign cultural values on us.”
The joint statement was prepared by the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, the Christian Council of Ghana and the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
“The leadership of the aforementioned ecumenical councils appreciate the ambassador’s recognition that Ghana is a very welcoming and tolerant society with lots of interreligious and interethnic harmony,” the declaration states. “However, we also wish to reiterate that like any welcoming and tolerant society, our tolerance is not unlimited.”
U.S. Ambassador’s Warning
The joint declaration was triggered by a recent warning from the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana, Virginia Palmer, over a pro-family bill.
John Dramani Mahama, former president Ghana (left)
Virginia Palmer, U.S. ambassador to Ghana (right)
“Lots of ethnic communities make Ghana strong, stable and attractive for investments,” Palmer told journalists in the Ghanaian capital of Accra. “I hope it stays that way with regard to the LGBTQ community.”
“They should be managed to be made the color of the money green or red if it’s Ghanaian, but if it is discrimination, then that will send a signal not [only] to LGBTQ investors and exporters but to other American companies,” she continued. “Then Ghana will be less welcoming … so I hope it stays that welcoming.”
Palmer was referring to a bill first introduced in 2021 called the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values Bill.”
According to a 2021 memorandum, the goal of the bill “is to provide for proper human sexual rights and Ghanaian family values, proscribe LGBTQ+ and related activities, provide for the protection of and support for children, persons who are victims or accused of LGBTTQQIAAP+ and related activities and other persons and related matters.”
The Joint Statement
The three Christian ecumenical councils in Ghana’s joint statement noted that the United States “and other so-called developed countries have their cultural values which inform what is acceptable and/or unacceptable within their respective country jurisdictions.”
Thus, similarly, the statement adds, “Ghana, as a sovereign nation, also has cultural and religious values that guide, inform and guarantee the sustenance, harmony and cohesiveness of our communities, and we do not intend to compromise those values for LGBTQI+ investors.”
“We wish to assure the American ambassador and all others that Ghana will continue to be inclusive,” the joint declaration continues. “But inclusivity cannot and should not be absolute and all-embracing. Indeed, no country or society is absolutely inclusive; there are and there will always be laws and regulations that define ‘exclusives’ for every society.”
The statement further decried high-ranking officials for leveling “intimidating insinuations” at Ghana, a sovereign country where more than 95% of the population is either Christian, Muslim or another religious group.
“All these religious groups mentioned stand together in abhorring the despicable lifestyle practices and behaviors of LGBTQI+,” the statement added.
“As a people, our cultural values and practices must be respected; we do not want the promotion, advertising, practice and/or imposition of LGBTQI+ behavior and practice in Ghana,” the statement concluded.
In July, the Parliament of Ghana voted to permit a second reading of the pro-family bill and minor amendments as proposed by the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee.