• The Catholic Church has decided to take punitive measures against church members who engage in illegal mining
• The measures are to serve as a deterrent to those involved in the galamsey menace polluting rivers and farmland.
• Reverend Matthew Kwesi Gyamfi said the church will reject offerings and donations from such persons and may exclude them from the holy communion.

The Catholic Church has warned that it will take punitive measures against church members who engage in illegal mining activities.

The first of such punitive actions is to refuse donations from illegal mining proceeds, commonly called galamsey in Ghana.

The decision is part of a wider set of church sanctions aimed at discouraging church members from engaging in illegal mining activities.

Punitive actions were announced during a speech delivered by the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ghana, Most Reverend Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, at the plenary assembly of the conference.

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He said the church is always ready to impose even stricter sanctions on members involved in illegal mining, including denying Holy Communion to members who persist in engaging in the heinous act despite warnings.

Most Rev. Gyamfi stated that members will be fully aware of the church’s position on Galamsey before such punitive actions are imposed.

Meanwhile, the church would reject donationsoffers and gifts from people who engage in illegal mining activities.

The bishop also urged the public to actively campaign against illegal mining and urged them to rather protect the sanctity of the natural environment.

He called on traditional leaders and community members to collectively prevent illegal miners from destroying their lands and polluting their water.

The Catholic Church embarks on a prayer walk

Catholic Church from Accra boarded a protest prayer walk on October 11, 2024.

Church described the walk as a clarion call for collective action against the menace of illegal mining that has devastated Ghana’s natural environment, threatening the lives and livelihoods of all Ghanaians.

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Organizers of the protest said the government could no longer be complacent in the fight against galamsey and urged it to immediately initiate sustained action to crack down on illegal miners.

The government’s anti-fuss task force destroys Changfans on Pra

YEN.com.gh reported that the govt anti-galamsey task force destroyed 10 Changfans and other illegal mining equipment on the Pra River.

Colonel Tedanu, the commander of the anti-rumble task force, said the task force is concerned with the destruction of the illegal miners’ infrastructure and machinery on the rivers.

He also explained that they mainly focus on major water bodies and not on forest lands and reserves.

Source: YEN.com.gh