A former General Secretary of the National Association of Charismatic and Christian Church of Ghana (CCCGH), Rev. Dr Emmanuel Ansah says the Priest who kissed female students at the St Monica’s College of Education within the Asante-Mampong Diocese, Father Balthazar Obeng Larbi did not glorify Christ with his actions.
According to him, the pastor was expected to teach the students the right from wrong and so kissing them in front of a congregation was wrong, whether it was a ‘holy kiss’ or not.
Father Larbi was seen in a viral video standing behind a pulpit kissing female students one after the other.
One cannot tell why he did that but some of the girls did not seem happy about the Priest’s action.
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In a statement, the Anglican Church of Ghana said it was saddened by the news, adding that a thorough Investigation has immediately been instituted into the matter.
After a crunch meeting convened by school authorities in Asante Mampong over the kissing brouhaha, Father Larbi was relieved of his position.
Although a section of the public were not comfortable with the Priest’s action, some people, including students jumped to his defence , saying it was a “Holy kiss” he gave the students while appreciating them.
Speaking on Atinka TV’s morning show, hosted by Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu, Rev. Dr Emmanuel Ansah said, “As pastors, we are the first ambassadors of Christ and the church follows us, and so if we are ambassadors and are expected to emulate Christ, then what happened contradicts the life of Christ.”
He also said the behavior of the Priest does not glorify Christ, the institution and the church.
For those defending the Priest with ‘Holy Kiss’, he said the authorities assessed the situation and noticed that the motive behind the kissing was not good, hence the dismissal of Father Larbi.
He was also of the belief that the authorities engaged some of the children on the matter and did not just base on the video to sack the Priest.
Meanwhile, he said the decision was taken based on a lot of circumstances, therefore urged all to respect the decision by the authorities.
Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori
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