Themed “From Waste to Witness: Ghana’s Recycled Cross for the Mission of Christ,” this event emphasizes the Church’s role in promoting creativity, advocating for waste reduction, and fostering human development.

The recycled cross is crafted from metal and electronics by a young artisan named Iddrisu. He has been instrumental in similar efforts, producing thousands of religious medals for Missio Aachen over the past year. The Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, through its Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Commission, has partnered with Missio Aachen in Germany to establish a training workshop at the Agbogbloshie scrapyard. This workshop will equip youth with valuable skills in recycling and converting electronic waste into useful products.

Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Accra, Most Rev. Anthony Narh Asare, noted that the “City of God” Cross was previously presented to Pope Leo XIV, who directed that it be returned to Ghana for the appreciation of both Catholics and citizens, before eventually being sent back to Rome. He emphasized, “We have been working on this site and with the people we refer to as being at the scrapyard, a place we call a throwaway place, has become a place of hope, a place where uselessness becomes useful and a place where the ugly is dumped and beautiful things spring from.”

Religious institutions hold significant influence and trust within communities and can play a vital role in turning sustainability efforts into action. When faith leaders preach stewardship as a moral obligation, practices like recycling become part of worship and contribute to achieving development goals.

REFERENCE

Information from https://newswatchgh.com/catholics-in-accra-to-process-with-cross-crafted-from-waste-materials-at-agbogbloshie/ was used in this story.