November 29, 2013 – The Catholic Commission for Social Justice (CCSJ) calls on all citizens to stand up for the rights of the nation’s children. Pope Francis rightly calls on societies to reflect on our “throwaway culture”. He said in June: “We are living through a moment of crisis… the human person is in danger…We have distanced ourselves from God, we do not read His signs…Human life, the person are no longer felt to be primary values to be respected and protected.”
Let us open our eyes and read the signs of the times and take urgent action to curb child abuse in TT and to promote the inherent and inviolable dignity and rights of our children. At the 21 plenary meeting of the Pontifical Council for the Family in October, the Pope said protecting children and elderly people is a “choice of civilisation…Children and the elderly represent the two poles of life and also the most vulnerable, the most often forgotten…A society that abandons children and that marginalizes the elderly will sever its roots and dark future…The family is the engine of the world and of history.”
And yet, it is in the family that so much abuse it taking place. The Catholic Church believes that the basic moral test of any society is how it treats its most vulnerable members, among whom are our children. Every child is a gift to humanity. We have a duty to promote the human rights and the dignity of our children and create conditions e.g. safe environments that will enable them to realise their potential. Society cannot turn a blind eye to the heinous crimes that are being committed against the nation’s vulnerable children.
Our country desperately needs systems in place to protect e.g. our children and those who feel the brunt of the violence that stalks our land.
Our society is in need of healing. Something is seriously wrong with a society in which the nature of the crimes, particularly those committed against children, is heinous and barbaric.
There is a rage for justice in our land. Let us channel our rage constructively by finding ways in which we can be agents of change in our families, our communities, our schools, our workplaces.
Lift up your prayers for six-year-old Keyana Cumberbatch who was found dead in a barrel in her home in Maloney. The Pathologist’s gruesome description of her death must spur us to action.
Let us pray also for one-year old Jacob Munroe who, on 20 November was found dead in a cesspit having been murdered. Let us pray for our country, that love will fill the hearts of our people.
And while we wonder “What kind of citizens we are nurturing in TT?” let us commit ourselves to be mentors and role models. The turning point will come when we all learn to stand in solidarity with each other; to see God in the face of our neighbour.
While we each have a role to play in promoting human rights, the State has a positive moral responsibility to enhance human dignity, protect human rights, and ensure that the minimum conditions of human dignity are met for all. The State has a duty to create social conditions that allow people to reach their full potential and realise their human dignity.
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Once again, CCSJ calls on:
– our Government to put systems and safety nets in place to protect the human rights of our children e.g. by moving speedily to establish a fully functional Children’s Authority;
– religious leaders/communities to instill in the hearts and minds of their followers morals and values that will help to build their character and lead them to live by the tenets of their faith;
– all communities to establish victim support groups and restorative justice groups in order to stand in solidarity both with victims of crime and with the perpetrators of crime whom we must help to turn their lives around and become productive, law-abiding citizens;
– educational institutions to play their part in facilitating integral human development, that is, the development of every dimension of a person and of each person e.g. by including in their curriculum educational programmes in ethics, morals, values, and character development;
– those responsible for the criminal justice system to review whether or not the current system deals effectively and efficiently with cases involving child abuse, in particular;
– the Police Service to review their strategies for responding to child abuse. How effective are these strategies?
– the media to examine its role in child abuse prevention.
For further information ring Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ on 299 8945
