{"id":2123,"date":"2018-11-29T12:49:58","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T12:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.writersghana.com\/?p=2123"},"modified":"2018-11-29T12:49:58","modified_gmt":"2018-11-29T12:49:58","slug":"the-accra-catholic-mission-125th-anniversary-a-church-and-state-bromance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/29\/the-accra-catholic-mission-125th-anniversary-a-church-and-state-bromance\/","title":{"rendered":"THE ACCRA CATHOLIC MISSION 125TH ANNIVERSARY; A CHURCH AND STATE BROMANCE."},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\">By Isaac Ato MENSAH<\/p>\n<p>Accra &#8211; 28 November, 2018.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>His Grace Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle last Sunday declared the official celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the Accra Catholic Mission closed.<\/p>\n<p>I arrived at 7:55am at the Independence Square, Accra; I had been warned \u2013 nay, I knew that if I did not arrive early, I could struggle to find a seat.<\/p>\n<p>At the east end the usual rubbish pile was in full view.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2127\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0025-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0025-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0025.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u2018No need to take pictures; I will always find this rubbish here,\u2019 I always assured myself anytime I passed by with my phone\u2019s batteries running low.<\/p>\n<p>On Good Friday, after Dag Heward Mills&#8217;s Lighthouse Chapel International finished their crusade, the perimeter of the Independence Square was littered for one full week \u2013 seven days I say.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2128\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0018-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0018-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0018.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And it has been the trend for a while now. During the Eid-ul-Adha, it is far better. The only reason I guess is that our Muslim brothers only come to pray there and go cook at home; the prayers do not last for more than one hour.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2129\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0022-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0022-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0022.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>My first shock was that the Catholic church was just like the rest; there were food vendors galore; the plastic bags were all over; vehicles, including a Ghana Armed Forces Bus, were all parked haphazardly.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2131\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0026-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0026-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0026.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I had charged my phone&#8217;s battery to 87 percent to take pictures.<\/p>\n<p>In the stands I took photos of the completely worn out plastic chairs screwed into place with tetanus-dispensing bolts and nuts.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2132\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0004-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0004-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0004.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The lateness was my first shock; people were walking in late and with nonchalance.<\/p>\n<p>But hear the bigger shock\u2026.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Those who have gone to take seats belonging to other groups, we are asking you to vacate\u2026,\u2019 a female and sometimes a male MC tried in vain to maintain order as people walked in and out of the inner perimeter with canopies and chairs arranged nicely.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2133\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0005-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0005-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0005.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To be fair, most of the rubbish had been there before 8am when I arrived, but nothing stopped the Catholic church with all its youth groups from cleaning up the place on Saturday; Catholic churches do that all the time.<\/p>\n<p>A second bigger shocker \u2013 not the biggest \u2013 the MCs kept announcing: \u2018All priests should form up under the Independence Arch to vest. Vesting is at exactly 8:30am&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2134\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0011-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0011-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0011.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The repetitive nature of the announcement confirmed to me that all that was good and virtuous about order and gravitas in the church was under attack and being quickly eroded.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2135\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0012-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0012-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0012.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>So like the prophet Nehemiah, I decided to leave my seat and go to the arch.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018It was like a low intensity riot,\u2019 as my mentor has always maintained about our public events.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2147\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0010-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0010.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Priests were taking selfies with congregants although it was past 8:40am.<\/p>\n<p>I saw Hassan Ahmed, director of protocol at the Jubilee House (Office of the President of Ghana) \u2013 he was sweating like a pregnant fish, as we used to say in secondary school days; he just kept turning and making frantic telephone calls.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2137\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2137\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2137 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0013-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0013-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0013.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2137\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ubiquitous presence of scaffolds and props right in front of and behind the arch. According to the food vendors, these were used for a programme sometime ago and have since remained here.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018The president of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Akufo-Addo arrives shortly,\u2019 the MC kept announcing. &#8216;<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">Priests please form up for procession.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2144\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2144\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2144 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0028-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0028-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0028.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2144\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scaffolds, props, stands and sand&#8230;right in front of the arches where the president used to sit. Now a presidential dais is mounted in front of the arches with this mess behind it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Then an ash pick-up truck arrived in reverse from the east end with some chairs for the presidential dais.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2145\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2145\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2145 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0002-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0002-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0002.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2145\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">More props in front of the Independence arches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2147\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2147\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2147 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0010-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0010-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0010.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2147\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The original presidential dais within the three arches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I started taking photos of the chief of protocol.<\/p>\n<p>A security man promptly spotted me among all the smart phone selfie takers, dozens of cameramen and camerawomen, and the GTV live broadcast crew, \u2018Officer, this man is taking pictures of the chairs&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>I was held physically under a false imprisonment.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Why were you taking pictures of the chairs?\u2019 came repeatedly and several other questions followed in succession.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I&#8217;m taking photos of the chief of protocol.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Did he give you permission to take photos of him? Who are you?\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I\u2019m a Catholic and a journalist,\u2019 I said with chest out and chin up.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Delete the pictures,\u2019 one demanded, letting go of me.<\/p>\n<p>I honestly think they panicked at the headline of having beaten up a poor church boy.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Which media house?, came another man.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Freelance,\u2019 I supplied.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Delete the pictures,\u2019 charged another.<br \/>\n\u2018You take it and delete it yourself,\u2019 I punched holes into their game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018No, you delete it, open the gallery,\u2019 their argument grew weaker.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I&#8217;ve opened it, delete whatever you want and give my phone back to me,\u2019 I ended the showdown.<\/p>\n<p>The leader of the security team in a navy blue suit could only delete two photographs \u2013 those of the unpacked chairs.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2138\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0003-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0003-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0003.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Afterwards, he went to stand in front of the presidential dais mounted right in front of the arches and directed Catholic priests on how they should walk in procession as each pair approached him on their way to the sanctuary mounted in front of the statue of the unknown soldier to the north.<\/p>\n<p>I was heart broken.<\/p>\n<p>The priests just looked at him without saying anything in reply.<\/p>\n<p>Of course by this time it was past 9am.<\/p>\n<p>I departed to the north \u2013 to the health post behind the mounted sanctuary.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2142\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0009-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0009-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0009.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There a middle aged woman who was being carried in mid air by three men from the inner perimeter with their bare hands kept yelling, \u2018Leave me alone, leave me alone&#8217;. They were all in anniversary cloth.<\/p>\n<p>When the bishops and their acolytes had had their separate procession, it was then announced that we should sing an interlude to await the arrival of the president.<\/p>\n<p>I felt like leaving, but I was not trained that way; there is nothing like that in THE ORDER OF THE MASS.<\/p>\n<p>The president arrived at 9:30am; I turned the front cover and every page in the programme \u2013 procession was at 8:45am and Holy Mass at 9am!!!<\/p>\n<p>Then yet another frantic announcement over the PA system as a delegation of bishops was summoned to walk about 100 meters from north to south to go and welcome our special guest and the first lady &#8211; Rebecca.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018There are missionaries from all the seven continents working in the archdiocese of Accra which covers the whole of the Greater Accra Region and parts of the North and South Tongu districts of the Volta Region,\u2019 Very Rev. Father Francis Adoboli, the chairman of the planning committee announced.<\/p>\n<p>I immediately caught a beatific presence of the statistics and details he gave against the photos of rubbish I had taken.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2139\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0015-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0015-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0015.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u2018We have disgraced ourselves,\u2019 I surmised. \u2018We are saying Holy Mass in filth.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Errhhm, our cameramen, I am known for causing trouble,\u2019 the first words of Archbishop Palmer-Buckle, our main celebrant, was loud and clear around the Independent Square. I<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">f it has to take the archbishop himself to repeat further that you should take your places\u2026.leave the space for the two officially assigned cameramen and go back to your assigned positions&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>OMG\u2026did I feel relieved at some order at last\u2026.when I arrived the lady MC was even announcing that some Mass Servers had formed up for procession even though they were not on duty for the day!!!<\/p>\n<p>After the usual brief introductory platitudes, \u2018We begin this Holy Mass in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,\u2019 intoned His Grace Palmer-Buckle; the congregation joined at the \u2018Amen&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>I began to breathe some Catholic air. It was 9:43am.<\/p>\n<p>I confirmed this on purpose.\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 16px;\">What is the point of attending church or any function on time in Ghana?<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Worst of all when you comment about lateness, there is always some pushback in the form of infantile excuses.<\/p>\n<p>The climax of the 125th anniversary of the Accra Catholic Mission was chosen to coincide with the Solemnity (Feast) of Christ The King, which ends the Catholic liturgical year, after which the season of Advent begins.<\/p>\n<p>Archbishop Palmer-Buckle\u2019s sermon was clear and concise; he gave a threefold reason why Jesus\u2019s kingship is justified, the last being the need for us to celebrate the kingship of Christ \u2018so that one day we may enter into its fullness&#8217;.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2140\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2140\" style=\"width: 225px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2140 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0014-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0014-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0014.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2140\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Two girls fetching water&#8230;west end of the Independence Square.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u2018So eschatological,\u2019 I shot back, in my head of course. \u2018Your Grace, we are saying Holy Mass in filth right now.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Jesus teaches us the type of kingship he requires of us. Jesus Christ is the faithful witness to the truth; the first born of the dead\u2026.and a witness to his God,\u2019 the sermon went on.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018His kingship is not one of wielding authority or lording it over others; his kingship is a kingship of service. He exemplifies it in service even to the point of death; in self sacrifice.<\/p>\n<p>He teaches us the qualities of servant-kingship for the benefit of humanity.\u2019<br \/>\nGreat sermon by all standards.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-2141\" src=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0007-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0007-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/writersghana.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG-20181129-WA0007.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If Palmer-Buckle could invite Nii Adama Latse II, Ga Mantse and Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, Osu Alata Mantse and president of Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, members of the diplomatic corps and Ghana government officials and deliver such a fearless message to them, then ought we all not to do our jobs faithfully and with diligence?<\/p>\n<p>In the brochure on page 70, I noticed that as part of the year-long activities, the Mamprobi deanery, my original home base had gone to weed around the open gutters around the Mamprobi polyclinic.<\/p>\n<p>The picture of rubbish was unmistakable. Uhmmm.<\/p>\n<p>I noticed also that on the square, the cameramen and women came back after the Homily!!!<\/p>\n<p>As for the president&#8217;s message, it is the same things you know already.<\/p>\n<p>When he mentioned free SHS there were loud revolts from across the stands and from under the canopies in the perimeter; he surely heard it; it was embarrassing. A young lady standing where I stood shouted \u2018TIN number&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>But when he donated 10,000 Cedis (USD2000) \u2013 OMG, the applause reverberated across the stands.<\/p>\n<p>From America to Riyadh and even in Ghana, money trumps everything it seems. Lawd help us.<\/p>\n<p>Feedback; ato@writersghana.com.<\/p>\n<p>Writers and Shakespeares Ghana Limited exists to be a moral and intellectual guide to the vest practice of PR and integrated communications around the world, beginning with Ghana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra &#8211; 28 November, 2018. &nbsp; His Grace Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle last Sunday declared the official celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the Accra Catholic Mission closed. I arrived at 7:55am at the Independence Square, Accra; I had been warned \u2013 nay, I knew that if I did not arrive early, I could struggle to find a seat. At the east end the usual rubbish pile was in full view. \u2018No need to take pictures; I will always find this rubbish here,\u2019 I always assured myself anytime I passed by with my phone\u2019s batteries running low. On Good Friday, after Dag<a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/29\/the-accra-catholic-mission-125th-anniversary-a-church-and-state-bromance\/\">Read More &rarr;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["entry","author-atowritersghana-com","post-2123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>THE ACCRA CATHOLIC MISSION 125TH ANNIVERSARY; A CHURCH AND STATE BROMANCE. - Writers &amp; Shakespeares Ghana Limited<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/writersghana.com\/index.php\/2018\/11\/29\/the-accra-catholic-mission-125th-anniversary-a-church-and-state-bromance\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"THE ACCRA CATHOLIC MISSION 125TH ANNIVERSARY; A CHURCH AND STATE BROMANCE. - Writers &amp; Shakespeares Ghana Limited\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Isaac Ato MENSAH Accra &#8211; 28 November, 2018. &nbsp; His Grace Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle last Sunday declared the official celebrations of the 125th anniversary of the Accra Catholic Mission closed. I arrived at 7:55am at the Independence Square, Accra; I had been warned \u2013 nay, I knew that if I did not arrive early, I could struggle to find a seat. At the east end the usual rubbish pile was in full view. \u2018No need to take pictures; I will always find this rubbish here,\u2019 I always assured myself anytime I passed by with my phone\u2019s batteries running low. 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