Some Catholic faithfuls have mounted a strong defence in the wake of attacks on the Church over a statue which allegedly promotes White supremacy.
A publication by Face2faceafrica.com suggests a section of Ghanaians are outraged over how the statue unveiled at the Tepa Roman Catholic Grotto at Manfo in the Brong region depicts a Caucasian angel overpowering a dark-skinned devil beneath his feet.
The statue has generated a lot of conversation on social media with many condemning the Catholic Church for demeaning the black race.
Some are calling on the church to pull the controversial statue down immediately.
But in reaction to the attacks, some faithful members of the Church have been explaining why the statue should not be described as “racist”.
An ardent member of the Church defends that colour does not matter when issues of religion are being discussed as “faith is colourless”.
He emphasized that whether black or white, it should not be interpreted as racism.
“In my opinion it’s not a racist statue. I see this statue as a projection of an angel and the devil and that’s all I see… I don’t really care about the color because the color will not take us to heaven it’s just the faith that we have which is colorless,” he noted.
Giving a Biblical explanation, another Catholic the advises critics to ignore the colour and focus on the symbolic interpretation of the statue.
He said, the colour black does not symbolize the black race as many are interpreting it to be but rather, represents satan and his kingdom of darkness as has always been depicted in the Holy Bible.
He urges those casting insinuations at the Catholic Church to read Revelations 12: 7-12 as the statue seems to depict what is captured there.
Though “it’s a human depiction, hence imperfect. No one can perfectly depict in a perfect way, what is heavenly. However, it is an attempt made by the Sculptor to carry a heavenly message and to move believers to faith in God,” he said.
He explains that “The Angel who holds the Sword is Michael, the Archangel, the Commander of God’s Heavenly Host. He is seen stepping on Satan (the one underneath Michael’s feet). This is to say that God is victorious over Satan and his kingdom of darkness. Hence, Our need to place our trust in Him and seek His help when we are being maltreated by Satan.”
“A believer who sees this image and is climbing the mountain to pray understands this perfectly well without thinking of racism,” he adds.
Read some of the comments from selected youths of the Catholic Church in Accra
“White also symbolizes Sanctity, Holiness God’s Heavenly glory and Victory AND NOT THE WHITE RACE! It is the wings of the Angel that are white and not the skin of the Angel. Please, white is white as in the colour of a white chalk or a white A4 sheet. Let us not read meanings into things with biased mindsets. Besides, what we see : Michael and Satan, are spiritual entities and not human beings so as to talk of a White man stepping on a black man.”
“It is not an insult to the black race. Our “Essential property ” is what makes us who we really are: “Human beings created in the image and likeness of God” as the whites are. This is what is most important. Our being white or black is only an “Accident ” which are not controlled by our will but determined by God, nature, genetics etc.”
“Why should Ghanaians be angry when we line up students to stand by roadside just to wave at a white man. Or they’ve been told that the black Angel is a Ghanaian.”
“When Jesus fed the 5000 plus people, the next day they wanted to make Him king……when these so-called whites visit Ghana to give our leaders aids and other huge amounts of money, our leaders in return put innocent school children on the roads side to send a signal of appreciation..you could see the students have no idea of what they are doing”.
By: Kekeli Kuatsenu/awakenewsonline.com
