RC Church must adapt to change
THE EDITOR: So our dear Roman Catholic Archbishop Gilbert is shocked having come to the realisation that the Catholic Church in Trinidad and Tobago, and indeed the region is in crisis because of dwindling membership because people are finding the Church less relevant to their needs. I wonder why he is so shocked.
When the Roman Catholic Church is headed by an old man sitting in Rome who is so reactionary that he has probably led the Catholic Church back into the 18th century with his refusal to accept that we are living in changed times and that the Church, like every other institution must adapt to change. The Roman Catholic Church continues to insist on celibacy for its priests and the Church has consistently and knowingly swept under the carpet for years the molesting of boys. When in Trinidad we seek to crucify Kennedy Swarathsingh who, by his down-to-earth approach to the faith, is one of the few priests who is giving the faithful some modicum of hope and belief that all is not lost. When people like Ian Taylor are inflicted on the population and set out to determine, not only that people in his parish in Moruga must not be allowed to celebrate their traditions as they have done for years because it offends his sensibilities, but also that he must rescue the people of Haiti from the curse of voodoo.
When Rome missed its greatest opportunity to become relevant again in Trinidad and Tobago by not appointing Clyde Harvey as its Bishop when Harvey is the only priest in the country capable of bringing the people, particularly the young people back to the Church. When instead, Rome appoints a right-wing American who is totally out of sync with today’s realities in Trinidad and Tobago and whose only response to the problem is that “People are trying to enjoy the best of secular life and still expect to go to Heaven” when, according to him, “they can’t have it both ways and must not try to reach God through the back door.” And then he wonders why people are leaving in droves. Well, my dear Archbishop Gilbert, I am a Catholic who remains committed to my Church despite the attempts of the John Paul’s and Ian Taylor’s and Edward Gilbert’s of this world. I shall continue to be inspired by the Kennedy Swarathsingh’s and Clyde Harvey’s who at least still give me some hope that the Church can survive.
NEAL STEPHENS
Arima
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"RC Church must adapt to change"