By Brima Sannoh
President Dr. Julius Maada Bio on Sunday 3rd November 2019 at Saint Martin de Porres Parish, Blackhall Road in Freetown admonished parishioners of the Catholic Church east of Freetown to be patriotic even as they observe their feast with the theme: “Surprise by Love”.
During the Homily, Archbishop Edward Tamba Charles congratulated the congregation on the feast of their celebration and said that the theme for the celebration depicted God’s love and compassion for everyone, including sinners.
The Archbishop continued to say that God had a special love for all His creatures but placed man in high favour, particularly in compassion and love, even those persons whom society consider as marginalised.
“God shows mercy to his creation with love. He overlooks the sins of human beings so that they can repent of those sins and wicked deeds. God doesn’t despise sinners but rather love them so that they can repent and forever benefit from His eternal glory,” he noted.
On his part, President Bio said he is happy to join the congregation on the feast of their celebration. He maintained that he had visited the church severally and even offered prayers there before the March 2018 elections that led to his victory.
“No national issue is simplistic. Getting to where we are today is not easy because we inherited a state of austerity from the former government. But with the steps we have taken as a government, things are going to be better and when that happens, it will be for the better,” he assured.
The president also noted that his government had allocated a large amount of the country’s resources to educating the children, who are the future leaders.
“The children and youths are the future. Therefore, we should suffer to give them better education that will transform our lives forever. I encourage everyone to exercise some patience, even as we work to fix the economy and country,” he said.
He concluded by reflecting on the pledge he made before assuming the presidency. He had said that he was going to better the country and that his government was going to work tirelessly to ensure the country became a better place for all.
