Accra, Sept. 16, GNA - The Most Rev Charles Palmer-Buckle, on Thursday urged the Board and Management of the Catholic Standard Newspaper and Magazines (SNAM) to hold high the standards of the Catholic Church in its reportage and not follow the dictates of the world.

"You can comment on social, economic and political issues and not be partisan", the Most Rev Palmer-Buckle, the acting President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference, said at the third Annual General Meeting of the Catholic Standard and Magazines (SNAM) in Accra. "Let us keep our focus as a church. We need a certain kind of quality. One that is of light and not darkness" he said and added that the church could contribute its quota to the development of the country but Catholic standards should be stated unequivocally. He told the board to be circumspect in who would buy shares of the company so that Catholic Standard is not in any way compromised. "Let us be Catholics and dare to be different," Archbishop Palmer-Buckle said.

The Vice Chairman of the Board, Mr Timothy K. Obeng, briefed shareholders on SNAM's Indebtedness, economic outlook, shareholding and challenges ahead and noted that the company ended the years 2008 and 2009 on a good financial note and appealed to parishes and dioceses who owe the company to pay up to improve the financial position of the company.

Under the year under review the company's total income rose GH¢177,751 in 2008 to GH¢ 210,150.00 in 2009, an increase of 18.23 percent.

Total expenditure for the review years were GH¢172,994.00 in 2008 and GH¢189,237 in 2009 as against GH¢159,846 in 2007, an increase of8.23 per cent in 2008 and 9.39 percent in 2009. He made a special appeal to Catholics to take interest in the paper to increase circulation which was about between 8,000 and 10,000 weekly adding that the board and management would explore other opportunities to expand and maintain the paper as the leading Christian weekly in Ghana.

"Even though the years 2008 and 2009 have been successful, they have been very challenging and it is our prayer that your company would continue to achieve more success in the years to come," Mr Obeng said. Managing Director of SNAM, Mr Isaac Fritz Andoh, expressed the hope that the strategic plan formulated by the company, the first in its history, would help the company to achieve its objectives. He said the company would still need the support of the Catholic community especially the two knighthoods as well as the Christian Mothers' Association, Saint Theresa of the Child of Jesus Society and other church societies to increase the paper circulation through subscription.

On advertisement, Mr Andoh said the company was intensifying its efforts to increase revenue through adverts, bearing in mind that adverts are the life-blood of newspapers. The support of the paper, he said, had come mainly from companies run by Catholics like Tropical Cable and Conductors Ltd, Femadons Farms Ltd and MES Equipment.

He expressed the company's gratitude to the National Catholic Secretariat for the many jobs it gave to the paper and commended institutions like the Catholic University College at Fiapre in the Brong-Ahafo Region, Christian Mothers' Association and the Catholic Institute and Business Technology for being supportive through adverts.