Priest lashes out

PARISH Priest Canon Clive Griffith yesterday lashed out at Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s decision to change the name of the nation’s highest award — Trinity Cross — saying it was a “sin” to change the name and interfere with the country’s history.

“It is sinful to remove the name of the country’s highest national award, the Trinity Cross, and rename it to something else. The Trinity Cross is the country’s history and it is a sin to interfere with a country’s history,” Griffith said as he spoke during morning mass yesterday at the St Clement Anglican Church in San Fernando.

Griffith said he was “saddened” when he heard of Government’s plan to rename the Trinity Cross.

“The Government is attacking the nation’s constitutionality of the highest order, which is sacred and holy,” he declared, adding that he believed changing the Trinity Cross’ name was only the beginning of many unjust things to follow.

“What about the National Anthem — ‘Every creed and race find an equal place.’ What about the colours of the National Flag; our Watchwords; The National Birds, do they want to remove the Scarlet Ibis and replace it with a corbeaux,” an emotional Griffith told the Sunday worshippers.

He added that it may even lead to the renaming of the country — Trinidad and Tobago — which was historically named after the Trinity Hills.

The Trinity Hills were first sited by Christopher Columbus, who re-discovered the twin island in 1498, naming it “La Trinity.”

Christian churches, especially Roman Catholic churches, are upset over the book and movie, The Da Vinci Code, which present the idea that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene and Jesus’ bloodline exists to this day.

San Fernando Mayor Ian Atherly who attended the mass, told Newsday after the service that the many ills plaguing society was caused by the church and adults, which both allowed the nation’s children to “stray away from positivity and God-fearingness.”