IRO: TT needs people of vision

INTER-RELIGIOUS Organisation (IRO) president, Rev Cyril Paul, declared that Trinidad and Tobago is in dire need of people “who can catch a new vision in order to rescue this generation as well as save the next.” In his 2004 Christmas sermon, Paul said many citizens feel very uneasy about the high levels of crime, the seeming extinction of honesty and integrity and the exploitation of women in TT. On crime, Paul lamented that many citizens believe that “our law-enforcement services seem incapable of bringing the situation under control.” “We cannot be at ease when witnesses to crimes are not prepared to come forward and testify because they are afraid of suddenly having a short life expectancy,” he stated. Paul said people were becoming increasingly uneasy that “deceit, greed and intrigue hold sway in our land.”

The IRO president said few people could ever be at peace when women continue to be battered by their husbands and male companions “and even the strong arm of the law seems unable to stamp out such abuse.” “We cannot be at ease when incest continues to be rampant and the raping of children, young girls and women is taking place on a regular basis,” he said. However Paul said all is not lost for the people of TT. “We need to rediscover our value in the sight of God and each other. “We will not commit acts of horror and brutality, if within us, is the power and presence of the living God. What we need in TT today is a cadre of dedicated people, they must come from every strata of society-compelled with the Spirit to give and not just to get. Christ’s life was one of service from beginning to end, and so ours must be as well,” he declared.

Paul reminded citizens that “the real enemy of our nation lies in the destruction of home and family life, and the consequent moral erosion in every sector of the society which follows.” The IRO president urged the population to heed this call or “Christmas will have come to pass in vain for us once again if we fail to reach forth in simple faith and to accept the gift of new life, new hope, cleansing from sin and release from the shackles of selfishness. “This is the challenge that confronts us this Christmas. This is the challenge of the hour. We need a new vision and a new awareness to match the evil, unbelief and cynicism of our time, and as we rediscover God, we will find that we are indeed a people with a passion for goodness and truth and justice. “Perhaps today, our greatest need of the hour is for a new vision of the wonder of God and a rediscovery of our role in the divine partnership,” Paul declared.