Chancellor of the Pontifical Academies of Sciences and Social Sciences at the Vatican, His Eminence Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, has called on President Akufo-Addo and the two major presidential candidates to draw inspiration from their interactions with Pope Francis.
Speaking at the IDEG High-Level Forum 2024 on Thursday, October 10, His Eminence Cardinal Turkson emphasized the importance of these leaders reflecting on their visits to the Pope and allowing those experiences to shape their thoughts as Ghana approaches the December 7 polls.
Cardinal Turkson specifically advised Dr Bawumia of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to let Pope Francis’s lessons guide their conduct.
He highlighted the Pope’s exceptional qualities, values, and virtues, prioritising peace, respect for human dignity, and the well-being of the human person while rejecting conflict and hatred.
By encouraging Ghana’s leaders to emulate Pope Francis’ example, Cardinal Turkson advocates for a leadership style that prioritizes the common good and the values of compassion, empathy, and understanding.
“The three protagonists, the three leaders [Akufo-Addo, Bawumia and Mahama], they visited Pope Francis, and they are the ones I’m inviting to come away with some of the values and virtues they experienced from their engagements with the Pope.
“And it’s one of peace, it’s one of respect for the dignity of a human person. It’s one of not putting any institutional structure over the dignity of any human person. But putting the human person first. It’s one therefore of cordial relationship and harmony and not one of conflict and hatred.
“I want to invite the protagonist, our going President [Akufo-Addo] and the two incoming Presidents to just take the cue, draw some lessons they drew from their visits to Pope Francis and make that influence their conduct. And the leadership of their parties, just as the leadership of the country, whomever, it pleases God to place over this land.”
All three leaders including President Akufo-Addo, Vice President Dr Bawumia and former President Mahama have all in the past paid a visit to the Pope.