The Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has refuted the assertion that Freemasonry is anti-Christian.
He has defended his membership with the association saying he is not afraid to proclaim his affinity with the sect, saying Freemasonry at its epoch, requires one to profess Christ.
His comments come on the back of concerns raised by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference after publicly confessing his association with Freemasonry as a Catholic.
Afenyo-Markin came out as a Freemason prior to the NPP’s flag bearer race in 2024, and also during the vetting of ministerial nominees in January 2025.
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, in a statement signed by its President, the Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, who is also the Bishop of Sunyani, reiterated the Catholic Church’s stance on Freemasonry, saying they are incompatible.
“The Church has always maintained that Freemasonry is incompatible with the teachings of Christ and the Church.”
The release had followed an earlier one issued by the Accra Archdiocese of the Catholic Church where it said no true Catholic can claim association with Freemasonry since the two do not go hand-in-hand.
Meanwhile, the Effutu legislator, in an interview on Accra-based Channel One TV Wednesday, January 29, 2025, said people who associate Freemasonry with anti-Christian are ignorant of the true relationship between Christ and Freemasonry.
“Freemasonry is not anti-Christ. If nothing at all, at the highest level of Masonry, you must profess Christ. People don’t know and people say things. But I’m ready for that debate. I have not been written to. If I receive a delegation from my church leaders for a conversation, we will have a good conversation.”
The Effutu MP further stated that should the Church take a definitive stance against his involvement, he would then decide whether to remain a Catholic or join the Anglican Church.
“My church first. The church doesn’t force people; the church shows compassion, listens, and shows love. My Archbishop, Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, has not written any letter to me. I have been seeing letters flying, but nobody has written a letter to me personally.”
Afenyo-Markin also averred that it is because he harbours no fears that he has publicly declared his association with Freemasonry despite being a Catholic, unlike others who belong to the sect but are afraid to come out.
“I’m a committed Catholic. I’m ready to discuss the fraternities that I join. If I was afraid, I wouldn’t have brought it up. There are many Catholics who are Freemasons and are afraid to talk about it.”