THE KONONGO-Mampong Diocese of the Catholic Church has denied reports that a priest of the diocese has passed on and a final funeral rite held for him at Jamasi-Yonso in the Ashanti Region as fake photos of his supposed children go viral.
The church said a website operated by bloggers falsely made the claim and carried the outlandish rumour in a news report which it named the said priest as Father Oti Boateng, claiming the clergyman secretly married and gave birth to nine children.
The post featuring images of three young women, supposedly the children of the Catholic priest and other mourners, also claimed drama ensued at Jamasi-Yonso over the weekend during the funeral rites, when the ‘secret wife’ of the dead priest showed up at the funeral to introduce the supposed children.
The web portals named the woman as Vida Annin, who reportedly stormed the funeral grounds with the supposed nine children of the late priest to partake in the rites.
The website claimed “a lot of people were amazed as whether to believe” the account of the supposed wife, who “showed pictures of the priest”.
However, Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu, Catholic Bishop of Konongo-Mampong, released a statement rubbishing the claims, saying there is no such Father Oti Boateng in the diocese or any funeral held for any Father Oti Boateng.
“My attention has been drawn to a post that is trending on the social media. The post speaks of the funeral at Jamasi-Yonso of a Catholic Priest, Fr. Oti Boateng, who supposedly had nine children with a woman called Vida Annin,” Most Rev. Osei-Bonsu said, adding “I write to say that Jamasi-Yonso is part of the Catholic Diocese of Konongo-Mampong, but there is no priest, dead or alive, who goes by that name in this Diocese. Neither has there been a funeral of a Catholic priest at Jamasi-Yonso.
“There cannot be the funeral of a Catholic Priest at Jamasi-Yonso in the Diocese of Konongo-Mampong without me knowing about it,” he added.
By Ernest Kofi Adu