Nothing sacred anymore

UPDATE:

IN THIS country nothing is sacred anymore. Not places of worship, not human life.

This was the sentiment expressed yesterday by Archbishop of Port of Spain Jason Gordon who added that people can no longer tell the difference between the secular and the sacred and this may be the reason behind recent break-ins at places of worship, murders at a mosque and robberies of worshippers heading to or leaving church.

“That’s why we are having the crime and violence, because if nothing is sacred – human life isn’t sacred, God isn’t sacred, the temple, the mosque, the church isn’t sacred – then we have the kind of breakdown we now have.”

Gordon was speaking following the consecration of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Presentation at Presentation College in San Fernando. He was asked whether places of worship were being targeted, as was alleged by a group of religious leaders at a press conference on Sunday.

“I don’t know if places of worship are being targeted deliberately. I think the secularisation of the city and the country has meant that people no longer understand what is sacred,” he said. There was a time, Gordon added, when you could leave your church, temple, or mosque open and nobody would dare go in and do anything.

“Because they understood this is a sacred space. Now that the sacredness of the country has gone, or, in many people’s minds there is nothing sacred in our country any more, it means everything is up for grabs and that’s also part of the problem.”

Gordon said traditional crime-fighting strategies are no longer working as he cited the escalation of criminal gangs and associated violence when an anti-gang law is in place. He said only restoration of the family and family values could counter the rise in gangs

“We have to reach out to the families, because it is in the families that we are having our deepest problems. A lot of these guys are looking for families. What they are looking for is love, a sense of belonging, they look for a place where they are recognised and respected. And we can’t give them these things, they will seek and find it in gangs,” Gordon said.

He said the chapel, which cost $300,000 to refurbish and was previously used by TT Post, would now serve as an “oasis” for students to develop a positive self-image.

Presentation College principal Dexter Mitchell said the college was doing its part in the church’s missionary thrust as he and students would go to rural areas of Trinidad which are not serviced by priests and lead religious services.

Mitchell is a lay minister with 30 years’ service.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Roman Catholic Archbishop Jason Gordon has said people can no longer tell the difference between the secular and the sacred and this may be the reason behind the recent break-ins at places of worship."

"That’s why we are having the crime and violence because if nothing is sacred, human life isn’t sacred, God isn’t sacred, the temple, the mosque , the church isn’t sacred, then we have the kind of breakdown that we now have," he said.

Gordon was speaking to reporters after the consecration ceremony of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Presentation, Presentation College, San Fernando yesterday.