Bishop-elect raises questions on crime, violence

The new chief clergyman of the Roman Catholic church in Barbados – the first native-born in the faith’s near 400-year history here – has called for answers to deeper questions on the nature of crime and violence in the country.

Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Bridgetown Neil Scantlebury said on Tuesday that while prayer is important, the church must also work with the judicial system to address underlying issues affecting the perpetrators of crime.

He declared: “We pray for a better environment, a better Barbados, and it is going to happen, it is happening, but we also have to do our part. Prayer is one part, but we also need to do practical things to help people to be better.

“We can talk until the cows come home about God and how we need to serve God and love God, but if we are not addressing their issues of hunger or clothes or shelter, then it is not going to take place.”

He said that while it is unfortunate that statistics show that more young people are committing crimes, finding temporary solutions to the problem is not the answer and would leave a wound yet to be healed.

Bishop-elect Scantlebury said: “We will voice our opinion on things, but I think if we work with the judicial system; the lawyers, the judges, etc, to get them to [find out] what is the problem, why is it that this is going on. Does more or a heavier sentence make a difference on criminals?

“The prison system is supposed to reform people, is that actually working? I don’t know. We also have to ask the question, what can we do as a church to help reform criminals. We got to look at the deeper questions.”

Father Scantlebury, who is to be ordained in March, said the underlying factors that lead to crime must be evaluated if a change is to come.

Prayer must be the focal point of society, including the family, and not just be left to the church to do, he said. Affirming that the church must work with the poor, he stressed that wherever there is need the church must be present to help, however possible.

The church leader also mentioned that while the church is facing the challenge of getting young people back in church, it is also a topic that the management of the church must address, particularly at a time when people are participating in worship sessions, through the use of social media platforms to social distance in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stating his views on the pandemic’s impact, Father Scantlebury said it has done some good through creating dialogue between parents and children and other loved ones, leading to an overall improvement in family life. He said the pandemic did cause some stress and caused people to realize that they will not live forever.

“COVID as bad as it is, guess what, our God is greater and our God can bring good even out of evil things and situations. That’s the God that we believe in, that’s the God that we have come to love. So at the end of the day, we are called to be a better people, even with the COVID situation,” the Bishop-elect said.

On Monday, Pope Francis announced he had chosen Father Scantlebury, 55, to be the next bishop of the Diocese of Bridgetown, the first Barbadian to be ordained a Catholic bishop.

The Bishop-elect is to succeed Bishop Jason Gordon, who served as Bishop from September 2011 to October 2017, and who is now the Apostolic Administrator for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgetown since his appointment as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain in 2017. Since then the Diocese of Bridgetown has been without a bishop.

Father Scantlebury has been serving in the Diocese of St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands since his ordination to the priesthood on May 18, 1995. He was born on October 1, 1965, to Deacon Keith Scantlebury, and Myrna Scantlebury, both now deceased. After completing his primary and secondary education in Barbados, he entered the St Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies, graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

In the USVI, he taught religion at the Catholic School of St Peter and Paul Cathedral on St Thomas. He was accepted as a candidate for priesthood, holding the position until August 2003. In that same month, he became rector of Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, St Thomas. In 2009, he returned to Holy Family Church becoming its parish priest. This year he became the parish priest of St Ann’s Parish, St Croix.

During his 25 years as a priest, Bishop-elect Scantlebury served the Diocese of St Thomas as Chancellor, Consultor, member of the Administrative Board of Catholic Charities, member of the Administrative Board for Child Protection, and member of the teaching faculty of Saints Peter and Paul High School, the Vatican said.

The date set for the episcopal ordination is Wednesday, March 17, the feast day of St Patrick, at St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in The City.

(anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb)