Anglican priest: People more concerned about Buju than Jesus

While most parishioners were focused on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, parish priest Father Ashton Gomez of the St Michael's Anglican Church, Diego Martin, this morning said his popularity was being rivalled by that of reggae artiste Buju Banton, who is expected to perform on Sunday afternoon.

Speaking with Newsday after the annual Good Friday procession along Covigne Road, Diego Martin, Gomez said there was a marked decrease in the turnout of worshippers than in previous years and attributed the small numbers to a general decrease in worship and spirituality.

"This year we have seen a decrease in terms of the numbers, there has been a decrease in worship period. I think people are more interested in the resurrection of Buju Banton than the resurrection of Jesus Christ and while I am a Buju Banton fan, he can never take the place of the resurrection."

Gomez said there also appeared to be a general shift from tradition and order particularly among youths and urged public to return a sense of order and discipline to their daily lives.

"Our young people's structure is not something they embrace. Where the church exists, the church has a structure, they will rebel and this is why society is the way it is because our society is based on structure. If you are rebelling against simple structure, be it school, workplaces, well what do you expect to happen?

"Are we people that want discipline? Something as simple as making a bed or saying good morning or good afternoon, it doesn't take much to get that discipline going. We have lost a lot of it, so we need to set things right and this goes for all religions."

For his Easter message, Gomez urged worshippers to stamp out hate, bigotry and corruption from their heart and do their best to emulate the teachings of Jesus Christ.

He said while crime in the community of Diego Martin has shown some improvement over the past year, he challenged citizens to do their part in maintaining law and order.