By Rev. Msgr. Prof. Stephen Ntim
This is the concluding part of the Letter
Personal Experience
Dear brothers, I think I have made my point. Let me share a personal experience I had as a Doctoral Student in Rome in 1994, so you can understand why I decided to write this letter to you.
In November 1994, there was a Consistory (the ceremony for the investiture of newly appointed Cardinals) in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The first Cardinal in Scotland was among the newly appointed Cardinals. I was then staying at the Scots College (‘Collegio’ in Italian is translated College, but does not always connote College as we understand in English. It is rather a residential house for Priests’ Students and Seminarians in Rome) from where, the Priest or Seminarian attends University or Seminary in their various locations in the city of Rome.
Since I was in the Scots College, and a Scot Archbishop was among the newly appointed Cardinals, all of us, especially the Priests’ students, staying in the Scots College had invitation to attend the ceremony in the Basilica.
After the ceremony, there was, as expected, a big party for this first Cardinal from Scotland in our house, the Scots house. At table, I was close to one of the old Cardinals working in the Vatican at that time. I asked him a simple question, because we were conversing, and had asked me, which country in Africa that I came from, and mentioned to him that I was from Ghana. He immediately remembered some of our Bishops- the late John Kodwo Amissah, the late Cardinal Dery and Emeritus Archbishop Sarpong (the then Bishop Sarpong) of Kumasi. I asked him (at the time, this was November 1994) why in Ghana, we did not as at that time have a Cardinal. This Cardinal put down his fork and knife, and looked at me straight in the eye and said in Italian: ‘Stephen, Ghana, would get a Cardinal, if you stop writing damaging letters about your Bishops to Rome. That explained it all!
Since I returned home after my studies, I have continually shared this important piece of information with elderly and senior Priests in my home Diocese. This Cardinal was a contemporary of the late Archbishop Amissah as Priests’ students in Rome.
Let us stop writing damaging Letters
It is about time to stop writing nasty letters about our Bishops. It is about time to stop writing damaging letters about brother Priests. From what I have personally experienced, and shared with you, the Ghanaian Clergy seems (unknowingly) to be gaining some notoriety for damaging letters about our Bishops and about ourselves as Priests. Consistently, this comes to the fore, when there is a vacant See (sede vacante). Damning letters about brother Priests are written to the Nunciature.
Let us remind ourselves, that any bad letter, we write about another person, we are in effect, demonstrating the mediocrity in us, – the Writer- and not the person, we think we are destroying. In the final analysis, it is the Clergy in the entire nation that gets the dent.
Again, across Dioceses in the country, it is very few Priests who form some syndicate behind these things. The Priesthood is already a very difficult vocation. No one can give us the much needed psychological support, but ourselves. I had the privilege, as Guest Speaker to remind ourselves of this in January, during our Bi-annual National Union Meeting and 40th Anniversary of our Union at KNUST.
Please, let us not tear ourselves apart. As Priests we are excoriated. We walk the path of suffering. This contemporary world are days of crucifixion. But as believers, each time we walk the path of suffering, God whom we serve pours out His grace more abundantly, and the suffering of Golgotha become transformed and purified into days of Resurrection. My humble prayer is that our brothers, who still habour anger and deep-seated rage against their Bishops will see the light.
Anger, frustration, unforgiving attitude make us become hardened and callous. We become prisoners and slaves of these and really do not make us become psychologically free and liberated. They only increase our palpitation and blood pressure, which can trigger Cardiovascular Accidents (CVA), the so-called stroke in the brain!
Similarly, we expect our Bishops also to see erring brother Priests, as their sons and welcome them home. Let us remember what Jesus tells us: ‘I have told you this, so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world (John 16, 33).
