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Society must kick against wrongdoing – Catholic Bishop
Very Rev Fr Dr Boampong Sarfo Jnr
A member of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference, Very Rev. Fr. Dr Charles Boampong has bemoaned the acceptance of wrongdoing in the society as a norm.
He said it was unfortunate that the wrong things in society were gradually being embraced and applauded and are not considered as abnormal anymore.
Very Rev Fr. Dr. Charles Boampong Sarfo Jnr, an Assistant General Secretary of the National Catholic Secretariat of the Conference made the observation in his homily last Sunday at the St. Augustine Catholic Church in Ashaiman on Vocation Sunday.
Vocation Sunday is also known as ‘exchange of pulpit’ day, a day where priests move from their original parishes to other parishes or stations to celebrate Mass, socialise and mingle with the faithful.
According to him, workers for instance would report to work late but would write a different time in an attendance book to suggest they reported earlier.
“The same applies with those that leave the work place very early but record times that suggest they left the office late. Such practices must not be entertained at all. It is a clear case of dishonesty,” he noted.
“When you report to work late, write the exact time you got to work and when you left. If you do not go to work, don’t say you did,” Rev Dr Sarfo told the congregation.
He said what makes the attitude very serious was the fact that many of the culprits of such practices were Christians who are supposed to live by example and go by the dictates Jesus Christ sets for his followers.
He observed that “there are persons who called themselves Christians yet would demand bribe from people before they discharged the duties for which they are paid at the end of the month.”
That attitude, he pointed out was not just ‘unchristian’ but also unpatriotic and hampers the development of the country.
He encouraged the parishioners to work with their hearts because in that, they would find fulfilment.
The Assistant General Secretary said faithfulness was key in the life of a Christian and they should be a light wherever they found themselves so that their actions would win more souls for Christ.
He lamented a situation where persons who were entrusted with other people’s properties maintained them poorly or do not take good care of them at all.
He observed that some people would even inflate the prices of items meant for maintenance so that they could make money out of it for themselves.
He stated that sadly, some people thought that was being smart but what they fail to see was that they were working at their own destruction.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Ashaiman
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
