Today is Pentecost Sunday. While we thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit who was given to us to renew the face of the earth, let us reflect on the words of Fr Tommy Lane: “What would the Church be like if it were vibrant with the Holy Spirit?…I ask you to pray that the Church may receive a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit…so that the Church may fly!” May the Holy Spirit open our hearts so that we will reach out to those who need our love and attention, particularly our families.
Today is also the day when the world observes The International Day of Families. The theme this year is Families, healthy lives and sustainable future. For some time, Pope Francis and Popes before him have been reminding us that Marriage and the Family are in crisis.
As the UN states: “The International Day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.”
The list of social, economic and other ills facing families in T&T is long indeed. To truly understand what the rights of the Family are, it is important to read what our Church teaches about this e.g. see Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation, ‘The Joy of Love’; and also the 1983 Charter of the Rights of the Family.
If the Spirit is truly working in and through us, we would play our part to strengthen family life in T&T. Let us act on the words of the Holy Father: “The main contribution to the pastoral care of families is offered by the parish, which is the family of families, where small communities, ecclesial movements and associations live in harmony” (AL 153).
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The recent exposure by the Children’s Authority of the extent of child abuse in T&T is truly cause for concern. At a May 5 media workshop at the Hyatt Regency, Sharifa Ali-Abdullah, Director of the Children’s Authority, stated that 5,000 complaints of child abuse were made in one year – 1,000 of these related to child sexual abuse.
The Catholic Church runs the VIRTUS Programme, which aims at turning every parish into child-safe havens. Thousands of Catholics in the Archdiocese have participated in the training which includes viewing and discussing issues arising out of two awareness videos — A Time to Protect God’s Children, and A Plan to Protect God’s Children.
Trinidad & Tobago Unified Teachers Association head, Davanand Sinanan, outlined some of the problems T&T face: “Where we have a problem is when you know for a fact that a child is being abused, the State does not have enough facilities where you can place children safely knowing that they’d be cared for and that there are qualified, competent staff there to take care of them and meet their emotional needs.”
Sinanan said this dilemma is also faced by the police, to decide if to move a child from an abusive home: “…you have to be absolutely certain that when you remove the child to protect the child from the abuse that is being meted out at home, that you don’t put the child in a place where his/her needs are not met and he/she is subjected to more abuse, as in many of the care homes that is a problem.”
The Trinidad Guardian reported Margaret Sampson-Browne, head of the Victim and Witness Support Unit, as saying: “Sometimes we have a child – six, seven years and we cannot find a home. Worse when they reach 14 or 16, or a child with HIV… it is more challenging. There is really an urgent need to provide sufficient homes because the children are suffering. And these homes must be well rounded to properly develop the child… It has reached crisis proportion. Some of the homes are not adequately staffed.” She made an urgent appeal for more homes to be built, adding that corporate sponsors must also get on board with this venture.
This crisis is an opportunity for growth. As we strive to protect and promote the institution of the family, remember the words of Pope Francis: “All of us are called to keep striving towards something greater than ourselves and our families, and every family must feel this constant impulse. Let us make this journey as families, let us keep walking together… May we never lose heart because of our limitations, or ever stop seeking that fullness of love and communion which God holds out before us” (AL 325).
