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The Right Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Catholic Archbishop of Cape Coast, called on Ghanaians to forgive former Flying Officer President Jerry John Rawlings for his excesses if they are to maintain his legacy.
“If there is a legacy we can support from Jerry John Rawlings, then let us first and foremost forgive him for what in our eyes, and in our estimation, was apparently excess in his statements and actions.
“During this holy mass, when we commemorate the saving passion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, this singular atonement sacrifice which he made once and for all on Calvary, ours is now to forgive if necessary.
“The time has come to leave judgment to the Lord our God alone. May the word of Saint Paul in I Corinthians 4: 5 be our guide and I quote: Do not pass judgment before the appointed time until the Lord comes, for he will revive what is hidden in darkness… ”
Most Reverend Palmer-Buckle made the call during a Sunday requiem mass at the Catholic Church where the late president met as part of his four-day funeral.
He referred to the former president’s active participation in coups d’état as well as alleged offenses, including death and seizure of property, which he personally inflicted on certain families and individuals.
The Archbishop said another legacy of Flt. Lieutenant Rawlings, whom he described as a “great fallen tree and a mighty tree uprooted by the wind”, was his mantra: transparency, probity and responsibility and his perseverance in bringing it into the politics of the Ghanaian body.
“Jerry, in his own way, was always hungry and thirsty for justice. In his own way he fought for the poor, worked for justice to be established for the disadvantaged and he could not tolerate the slowness with which this was happening, ”he said.
Reverend Palmer-Buckle advised the congregation and the general population to take an oath in the presence of the Lord to work conscientiously with the virtues of transparency, probity and responsibility in their social, religious and political life.
He also advised the children of the late president to unite and lead their father’s legacy.
“Now is the time to bring your father back to life by walking in his shoes and nurturing his virtues and values,” he said.
The Mass, which was adorned with hymns and scripture readings, was honored by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his wife, Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and his wife, former President Mr. John Dramani Mahama, Speaker of Parliament Mr. Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin and other government officials.
The other participants were the Agbotui and allied families and members of the Anlo Traditional Council, pillars of the Democratic National Congress, including Mr. Johnson Asiedu Nketia, Mr. Haruna iddrisu, Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor, Ms. Dzifa Gomashie and some foreign notables. .
Flt. Lieutenant Rawlings, who was the first president of the Fourth Republic of Ghana, died on November 12, 2020 at Korle-Bu University Hospital in Accra.
He left behind a wife, Mrs. Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, and four children – Zanetor, Kimathi, Amina and Yaa Asantewaa.
—GNA
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