Palmer-Buckle sticks to decision

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

Most Reve. Gabriel Palmer Buckle is the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Accra

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday July 13, 2010
The Catholic Archdiocese of Accra says the planned relocation of the Catholic Social Advance Institute (CSAI) would go ahead as scheduled.

Over the past weeks, some members of the church calling themselves the Catholic Resistance Movement as well as some concerned parents of the school have made strenuous efforts to stop the Metropolitan Archbishop, Most Reverend Gabriel Palmer-Buckle from relocating the school, sparking intense media debate.

The Accra Archdiocese intends to relocate the CSAI to separate campuses at the Martyrs of Uganda, Mamprobi and Sacred Heart at Arena.

A release issued in Accra yesterday and signed Very Reverend Francis Adoboli, Vicar General of the Catholic Church and Very Reverend John Patrick Tindana, Chancellor of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra said “we will not as Archdiocese allow ourselves to be intimidated by any misinformed or ill-intended members of the PTA or teaching staff.”

“We take the threat to the Archbishop very serious and now that the veil is gradually being lifted from those behind the various nefarious activities of peddling lies and harassing the Archbishop we will advise ourselves on actions that need to be taken to stop this abuse once and for all.”

“We hereby serve notice to the Siaw faction of the PTA executive and their clique on the teaching staff that they would be held jointly and severally responsible for anything that will happen to Most Reverend Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra who is the custodian of the Catholic Social Advance Institute.”

The release said the relocation plan is on course because “extensive and adequate renovations have been made at great cost both at Martyrs of Uganda and Sacred Heart property to create a very congenial milieu for academic work and also make both staff and student comfortable.”

The release said a section of the PTA led by Mr. Siaw with the support from a section of the teaching staff held the meeting on Saturday July 3, 2010 and invited the media when the Acting PTA Chairman, Mr. Emmanuel Aboagye and the Principal of the school Ms. Rosa Sam had asked Mr. Siaw and his group to allow the media to excuse them to ensure a fruitful deliberation but the group refused.

“Mr. Siaw who is only an executive member of the PTA with support of a section of the teaching staff insisted that the meeting should go on as planned. He then proceeded to preside over a PTA meeting which to all intents and purposes had not been properly constituted.”

The release recounted how the school was established by Dr. Helga Kleinkowski and admitted that even though the Konrad Adenauer Foundation had supported the German philanthropist financially in putting up the school buildings, the foundation officially handed over the school to the then Bishop of Accra, Most Reverend Dominic K. Andoh in December 1980.