Let’s Pursue “paths that lead to peace”: Vatican-based Cardinal to Ghanaians

Accra, 09 July, 2025 / 3:25 PM

To achieve lasting peace in all regions of Ghana, citizens must be willing to pursue a path that genuinely leads to peace, Peter Kodwo Appiah Cardinal Turkson has said.

In an interview with Ghana’s Channel One TV, the Ghanaian-born Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Social Sciences in Rome alluded to the various forms of violent conflicts in the West African nation, which are often founded on chieftaincy disagreements, ethnic divisions, and competition over resources, among others.

For instance, the protracted tension in Bawku, a town in the Upper East region of Ghana that borders Burkina Faso, has been characterized by gun violence and fatalities. Last November, members of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) decried the displacement of people and loss of human life and livelihoods for survivors among other negative effects.

Ghana’s Catholic Bishops warned that the protracted violent conflict in Bawku could lead to a humanitarian crisis, which they said “is a deep concern for the Catholic Church and all peace-loving Ghanaians.”

In the TV interview published on Tuesday, July 8, Cardinal Turkson reflected on the words of Prophet recorded in Jeremiah 6:16 and described the current social and moral direction of Ghana as being at a crossroads.

“If Jeremiah tells us that we are at the crossroads and we should find which path leads to peace, then it means right now we may be travelling on a path which does not lead to peace,” the Vatican-based Cardinal said.

He said, “To be talking about peace when you are walking on a path which doesn’t lead you to peace is leading people astray.”

If Ghana “is serious about resetting its moral and democratic compass, it must be ready also to reexamine the symbols it celebrates,” Cardinal Turkson said about his native country, where he started his Episcopal Ministry in March 1993 as Archbishop of Cape Coast Catholic Archdiocese. 

He questioned why the country’s main international gateway, Katoka International Airport, for instance, is named after a figure known for leading a military coup (Emmanuel Kwasi Kotoka – a key figure in the 1966 coup that overthrew Kwame Nkrumah's government).

“It’s ironic that we have a document that discourages coup d’états in the sub-region, but the name on our airport, the first point of entry into Ghana, is named after a coup maker. That doesn’t jell,” the 76-year-old Ghanaian Cardinal said.

He continued, “For us in Ghana, it’s a conversation; I’m not holding anybody up for criticism. It is an introspection that we need to make. Revisiting the past: did the coups promote democracy or the common well-being? We can evaluate all of those.”

For him, it would be ironic for Ghana to disassociate itself from “coup d’état and still idolize a figure who represents” it.

“The governments in the past may have had a reason to do it, but if we are resetting, then it’s good to do a full review of the history,” he further said. 

In the interview published July 8, Cardinal Turkson noted that a comprehensive review of Ghana’s history would help uncover “values and things” that undermine the country’s core value systems.

Earlier, on July 1, at Ghana’s first National Prayer and Thanksgiving Day, Cardinal Turkson called upon Ghanaians to unite with a renewed sense of “fraternal solidarity” in confronting challenges affecting them.

In his address during the event, at which he was guest of honour and main presider, Cardinal Turkson said that Ghana must consider re-planning its national journey, set new objectives and goals, and do so without giving in to despair.

“We do not yield to despair; rather, we embrace the values of our own past and the religions and faiths we pursue and formulate the types of solutions and situations that best help us all achieve our common good,” he said.