Wa, Nov. 30, GNA - The Most Reverend Philip Naameh, Catholic Bishop of Damango on Thursday urged ethnic groups to abandon all traditional practices that promoted divisiveness and made their members to look down on others.

He observed that in some towns, full-blooded Ghanaians were often declared foreigners because they hailed from other regions and one often heard North or South in the Upper West as if East or West did not exist, while in the Upper East Region, it was either Bolgatanga or Navrongo and not any of the other towns in that region.

"Everybody is made in the image of God and therefore, a subject of His grace and you disfigure God when you look down on any person", Bishop Naameh said in a homily at a Church service at Wa to climax the centenary celebration of the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province of the Catholic Church in the Upper West Region.

The four-day celebration, which was marked by thanks giving prayers and other social activities, was under the theme: "the Church as partners in development". Catholic adherents from the neighbouring dioceses of Navrongo-Bolgatanga, Damango, Tamale and Yendi joined in the celebration.

He noted that some Priests and Missionaries were also involved in the web of ethnic divisions saying, "as Christians if you do this, your baptism is only a ritual even if you are a Bishop". The task of every Christian, he said, should be to see to the trans formation of his society and they needed the spirit of Jesus Christ to be able to face that challenge.

Most Reverend Naameh did not spare the clergy of the Church, accusing some of them of becoming "professional complainants" and pointed out that one could not be a priest in the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province and expect to share in the comfort and luxury of Priests in the U.S.A.

Mr Ambrose Dery, Upper West Regional Minister said the government was committed to enhancing the good relations that existed between the country and the Vatican that had culminated in Ghana now being home to two Cardinals despite its small size. He commended the Catholic Church for the great role it had played in the development of the region, especially in the health and education sectors of the economy and expressed the hope that more resources would be forthcoming to enable it sustain its development initiatives. 30 Nov. 06