Nothing sacred

Crime affects all of us and has claimed victims from all walks of life. But this incident was particularly pernicious given the history of the victim involved, the location of the attack and the aggravating way in which the attackers — judging from initial reports — appeared to have taunted the priest with the possibility of kidnapping.

The matter is subject to action by the law enforcement authorities, but the details that have been sketched thus far paint a disturbing picture.

The incident took place shortly after 5 am at the St Martin de Porres RC Church compound in Gonzales, near a dormitory where Harvey — who is on sabbatical — had spent the night. After being robbed, the priest was hogtied and gagged.

For close to half an hour, the outspoken priest, who is known for his decades of working with at-risk youths, struggled to free himself while silently praying to his God to get through the ordeal.

At one point, Harvey later told police, one of the gunmen became agitated and said to him, “You is a priest, you must have money.” The gunmen threatened to kill him.

It was also reported that one of the bandits asked Fr Harvey whether, if he was kidnapped, Archbishop Joseph Harris would pay a $50,000 ransom. The distressed priest answered no.

He was robbed of $1,000, a watch given to him as a gift and a cell phone. Not content with their attack on the priest, the bandits moved on to the church where they forced open a door. The House of God was ransacked.

The shaken priest would later tell shocked parishioners, “I now know how a pig feels when it is tied up.” Harvey is a national treasure. In addition to his vocation, he has been an outspoken advocate concerned with the public interest. He has contributed support in untold ways to many, whether through spiritual guidance or simple acts of encouragement. He was awarded the Humming Bird Medal Gold in 2011 for his role in community service and religion. He is also the chairman of three non-government organisations — Community Intervention for Transformation and Empowerment, South AIDS Support and the Morris Marshall Development Foundation.

Harvey has a clear record of working in at-risk communities.

As such, there is something decidedly perverse about this attack. It is not Harvey who should have been treated like a pig, but rather the cowardly men who sought to take advantage of him.

Still, we know Harvey is not likely to be made bitter by this incident.

In fact, we believe he will come back from this stronger than ever. The question of forgiveness is for him.

For now, the law must be allowed to take its course.

Yet again, the public has been driven to outrage over the latest assault on our collective decency.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley, who chairs the National Security Council, said, “These miscreants have parents and I hope that somewhere in this country today there are a few parents who are hanging their heads in shame as they reflect in private as to what more they might have done to prevent any of our citizens from behaving in this despicable way.” We are confident the authorities will continue to do their best to apprehend the culprits. But more importantly, we continue to express the hope that crime is brought under control through plans that are not only comprehensive but effective.

Let us all take a cue from the Prime Minister, however, in realising that we all have a part to play in solving this problem