Religion

GOD NOT GUN

Message from The Most Rev Neil Scantlebury

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,

Gun crimes in Barbados are at an all-time high. This beautiful island of ours that we all love so dearly is seeing the ugliness of death due to the bullet becoming almost a weekly occurrence. Most will agree that this level of violent crime is foreign to the Barbadian way of life. So, what has changed? Why are we no longer a peaceful and loving society?

The recent formation of the National Advisory Council on Citizen Security is one of many measures that the government is using to tackle the upsurge in serious crimes. The arm of the Barbados Police Service is being strengthened with collaboration with the Barbados Defense Force and it is hoped that this united front can stem the tide of serious crimes and murders.

I welcome any and all attempts to return our country to a peaceful and loving place.

In grappling with the answer to the question of why has our society change for the worse I am convinced that the breakdown in good family life is at the center of the crime and violence. A good family is indeed vital to building a good society. The family plays a foundational role in shaping individuals who form the fabric of society. It is in the family that our spirituality, morals and ethics are formed. In today’s modern world fewer people are attending church or establishing a sound spiritual foundation. It was in the family circle where children first learn about right and wrong. Parents and caregivers instilled moral values, ethics and a sense of responsibility in children and these are characteristics crucial for the development of a just and compassionate society.

Thou shall not kill. God has given us all the precious gift of life we must be thankful and grateful for all lives, ours and those of others. I want to remind people who find themselves on a slippery slope and a pathway to commit a murder that they are breaking God’s law. I encourage would-be killers to pause reflect and pray. There is always another way. It may not seem like there is another way when all the odds are stacked against you but there is. Reviews in all murder cases prove that forgiveness and reconciliation would have mitigated the situation. My brothers and sisters avoid hasty actions born out of vexation. These actions have tremendous long-term effects.

Go to God not the gun. Before you load up that gun to take a life get a Bible and read it, load up with the word of God. There is always a better tomorrow. Trust in God. There is hope in God. There are many stories -not enough- about persons who have walked away from a life of crime and gangs and became successful individuals with families.

No man is an island, no man stands alone. Those involved in serious crimes and murders must reflect on the hurt and pain that they bring down not only to their victims but also the victim’s family. The person you kill is a son, daughter, sister, mother, brother, father and friend to others, they will forever feel the pain of your actions which took away a loved one forever. Those of you who are shooting and killing please note that your family and loved ones also become suffering victims of your actions. Your actions may result in revenge on you or a lifetime in jail. No parent wants to know their child is locked in prison. No wife or girlfriend would like prison or death to end their loving relationship. No young child wants to be without the loving care of their father.

The repercussions of crime and violence are far reaching and never ending.

My prayers and appeal go out to those trapped in the vortex of crime. I assure you that with God you have the power to turn your life around. You were blessed with life and made for a great purpose, live your life to the fullest and let others do so too with theirs. Go to God not the gun. Load up your heart with the Word of God not a gun with bullets.

Religion

REQUIEM MASS FOR POPE FRANCIS

A Requiem Mass for Pope Francis was held yesterday evening at the St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral. Catholics turned out in large numbers at the Jemmotts Lane location for the Mass celebrating the life of Pope Francis.

The Pope died on Easter Monday at the age of 88.

*Bishop Neil Scantlebuy as he incensed the photo of Pope Francis*

The Roman Catholic Bishop, Neil Scantlebury during the mass incensed a photo of Pope Francis. He was joined by clergy from other churches, Anglican Bishop of Barbados The Rt. Rev. Michael Maxwell, Moravian Rev Cicely-Athill Horsford and Anglican Priest Rev Dr. Michael Lashley

*From left, Fr. Clement Paul Anglican Bishop of Barbados The Rt. Rev. Michael Maxwell, Moravian Rev Cicely Athill Horsford and Anglican Priest Rev Dr. Michael Lashley*

Religion

BISHOP NEIL SCANTLEBURY REFLECTS ON THE PASSING OF POPE FRANCIS 1

Catholics to pray daily for the repose of his soul

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgetown joins Catholics and people worldwide in mourning the passing of His Holiness Pope Francis I, who died today at the age of 88. He had been ill for some time.

Bishop of Bridgetown, The Most Reverend Neil Scantlebury, said today: “He was the first Pope I ever met face-to-face and I remember his firm handshake, his warm smile, his simplicity. He was so humble, so real, so jovial, so holy.”

Bishop Neil added: “One of my enduring memories of Pope Francis is when he came out onto the balcony of the papal apartment after he was elected in 2013 and he stood before a packed St Peter’s Square and asked the people to pray for him—and a profound silence fell over the entire space as the people prayed for him. Fast forward to March 27, 2020, when he who stood alone, in silence, in that same Square and prayed for all of us during the height of the COVID pandemic—when he made his statio orbis. And then, just yesterday, Easter Sunday, he is wheeled out onto the same balcony where he began his pontificate, and gives us—the Church and the world—his final blessing. He was a true shepherd. May he rest in peace.”

Bishop Neil also hailed the depth of the insights shared by Pope Francis in documents like Laudato Si’, Amoris Laetitia and Evangelii Gaudium. He said: “Pope Francis was so full of mercy in his perspective, from the very start when he likened the Church to a ‘field hospital’, to his championing the care of the Earth, to the hailstorm of criticism he received for saying ‘Who am I to judge?’. He was big-hearted, he was courageous, and his call for us to unflinchingly minister to the ‘fringes of humanity’ still resounds.”

The Diocese of Bridgetown will have a Requiem Mass for Pope Francis, details of which are still being finalised. Prayers for the repose of his soul will be offered daily, and special prayers for the election of a new Pope will also begin soon.

Religion

POPE FRANCIS HAS DIED

The world has awaken today, Easter Monday, to the news of the passing of 266th Catholic Church leader, Pope Francis. Catholics have gathered outside the Vatican this morning as they learned of the passing of the 88 year old pontiff. Pope Francis had been ailing over the past months and and was hospitalised having been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the Vatican camerlengo, announced the news in a statement: “At 7:35 this morning, the Bishop of Rome, Francis, returned to the home of the Father. His entire life was dedicated to the service of the Lord and of his Church. He taught us to live the values of the Gospel with faithfulness, courage, and universal love, especially for the poorest and most marginalized. With immense gratitude for his example as a true disciple of the Lord Jesus, we commend the soul of Pope Francis to the infinite, merciful love of God, One and Tribune.”

Throughout his 12-year papacy, Francis was a change agent, having inherited a Vatican in disarray in 2013 after the stunning resignation of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a standard-bearer of Roman Catholic conservatism.

Francis steadily steered the church in another direction, restocking its leadership with a diverse array of bishops who shared his pastoral, welcoming approach as he sought to open up the church. Many rank-and-file Catholics approved, believing that the church had become inward-looking and distant from ordinary people.

Francis reached out to migrants, the poor and the destitute, to victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members, and to alienated gay Catholics. He traveled to often-forgotten and far-flung countries and sought to improve relations with an antagonistic Chinese government, Muslim clerics and leaders from across the fragmented Christian world.

After some early stumbles, he took strong steps to address a clerical sex abuse crisis that had become an existential threat to the church. He adopted new rules to hold top religious leaders, including bishops, accountable if they committed sexual abuse or covered it up, though he did not impose the level of transparency or civil reporting obligations that many advocates demanded.

In his final years, slowed by a bad knee, intestinal surgery and respiratory ailments that sapped his breath and voice, Francis used a cane and then a wheelchair, seemingly a diminished figure. But that was a misleading impression. He continued to travel widely, focusing on exploited and war-torn parts of Africa, where he excoriated modern-day colonisers and sought peace in South Sudan.