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he Right Reverend Dr Daniel Sylvanus Mensah Torto, Anglican Bishop of Accra, on Tuesday spoke extensively against corruption, which he said has found space in the Church and social fabric of Ghanaians. As a known fact, Christians are not immune and even some churches have succumbed to corrupt practices, besides, many people in positions of influence have become actively engaged in corruption, he said in an Easter message. He said: The most commonly-recognized manifestations of corruption are the payment and receipt of bribes, big or small. These may vary from small payments, for example to jump a bank queue to vast payments to secure huge contracts. But corruption takes many other forms too including fraud, extortion, the rigging of decisions and nepotism. Even within the rather narrow boundaries of what one might call transactional corruption, human sinfulness has been highly creative. Corruption has been one of the deadly, undesirable and wicked sins that has been introduced into our society that is destroying us. Bishop Torto noted that corruption has distorted all values and made mincemeat of morality, truth and virtue. It has entered into every single aspect of our lives becoming all-pervasive just similar to the air we breathe. It is growing massively in huge proportions and there is barely any sphere of social, political, economic and even religious activity that is free from graft, fraud and corruption of some kind. It is now regarded as a fact of life and an evil which is inseparable with which we have to live with throughout. It happens as much as in the daylight, as it is done behind the closed doors. It is under every stone we turn and every door we open. Bishop Torto said corruption could be considered as a deadly sin in the society and it is a shame that we are being evasive and denying this fact by considering it as a habit and a part of our lives. He said while the more blatant forms of corruption such as bribery may be most evident in Ghana, where governance institutions, control systems and legal safeguards are often weaker, the more subtle forms is the Ghanaian love affair with things of the world, inherent materialism and willingness to compromise standards - which most afflict the wealthier parts of the world. Bishop Torto asked the citizenry to speak out and act against the greed and corruption inherent in rampant materialism. He said: For some religious leaders, our failure to recognise and act against worldliness is perhaps a sign of our own corrupt characters. As Christians we need not only to resist transactional corruption but to adjust our very mindsets and the deep-seated values to which we adhere. The Anglican Bishop said the youth are the most important agents for change and predisposed to patriotism and listed their hopes as a world free of poverty, unemployment, inequality and exploitation of man by man; a world full of creative challenges and opportunities to conquer them. He said the youth have a role in promoting social and economic development as well as improving the spiritual life of the nation. Bishop Torto said the present conditions that Ghanaians find themselves including economic instability, social dissensions, political rivalry and international distrust should awaken the youth from their slumber and make them enquire what the future is going to bring. It is surely they who will suffer most if some calamity sweep over the world. They should therefore open their eyes to the existing conditions, study the evil forces that are at play and then with a concerted effort arise and bring about the necessary reforms -- reforms that shall contain within their scope the spiritual as well as social and political phases of their lives. The hopes of young people can be fulfilled only in conditions of peace, only in a civilised and cooperative world order. He required the youth to participate actively in agricultural projects and programmes dedicated to improving their living conditions, and developing the self-reliance of their families and communities. As we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ, I challenge the youth in this dear nation, Ghana, to aspire for entrepreneurship rather than conventional employment, since, young people are full of vibrant ideas. They should be motivated and sufficiently guided to aspire for greater heights. As we celebrate Easter, we must not lose sight of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made to redeem us from the powers of darkness. It is our hope that as we commemorate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, we shall resurrect from our social and religious vices and eschew all that Christ came to die for, he said.