Archbishop wants to enrol Venezuelan children in Catholic schools

Despite programmes from the Catholic Church and the State, efforts to assist Venezuelan migrants are relatively underfunded, however, there may be some relief coming soon with the visit of a Vatican priest to Trinidad, according to Port of Spain Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference at Archbishop's House, Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, Gordon said while the diocese attempted to accommodate all migrants to the best of their abilities, there were financial restraints and hoped the recently concluded, week-long visit of Father Robert Stark would lead to more funding for programmes.

"Last year, in May, I asked all parishes to start a ministry, there are a lot parishes doing incredible work, but they can't keep up with this because the numbers (of migrants) are escalating every single week.

"So in terms of what we're doing, I think a lot has happened in a short time with very little resources and that is a miracle all in itself. The next stage is to strengthen the parish ministries because it's easier to deal with people in smaller pockets out of a decentralised ministry."

Gordon said among the Catholic Church's top priorities were enrolling migrant children in schools and said the Catholic Education Board of Management were working with other stakeholders to accommodate children.

"The ministers of education, national security and myself have met and we have worked the way to make this thing happen. The Prime Minister has said the Catholic Church will educate migrant children and we have been fighting the way with very little time and resources to get up to scratch on this so we are talking about a very quick evolution of delivery and that's what we're working with."

Asked about Government's policy to stop accepting migrants with the end of the registration process in June, Gordon said while Government had a responsibility to secure TT's maritime borders, the church would not turn anyone away and would assist those in need whether local or foreign.

"We have these two principles we have to work out of. Government has to do the securing of the borders, but we (the church) have to welcome whoever comes and ensure whoever comes will be treated like a human being with decency, if we don't do this, we will be building the next problem for TT in 10 to 20 years time. We don't want that."

For his part, Fr Stark said he was impressed with the hospitality and generosity shown to Venezuelans during his visit to Trinidad and commended both church and government officials for working together to assist migrants in need and said he and other Vatican officials would have to assess which areas were in greatest needs of funding.

"One of the things we take seriously is being able to listen and process, so I haven't really processed everything from the visit, but I think one of the strengths I saw and experienced from the visit was this deep sense of appreciation for diversity. It is a very diverse church and it's something that makes this country strong.

"The collaboration between church and state is also remarkable. It's the result of many years of trust on both sides and that is an incredible resource as well as collaboration with non-profit organisations was also something we promote."

Outlining several action points made by the Vatican to the United Nations in 2018 for assisting migrants and refugees, Stark said he was impressed with TT's generosity in assisting those in need.

Vatican priest Fr Robert Stark, left, stands beside a life-sized cardboard cut out of Pope Francis along with Port of Spain Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon, after a press conference at Archbishop's House, Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, on Friday.