Month: August 2016

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Building a society for ALL

Post author By Web administrator
Post date August 28, 2016

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI

On Wednesday, August 31, T&T will celebrate 54 years of independence. My 91-year-old father, Balgobin Ramdeen, who was a Member of Parliament then (1961-1966), loves retelling his experience on that fateful day when we gained our independence.

As he said in an interview: “I remember the day. I was in Parliament when we got our Independence and I stood in the front of the Parliament building there and saw the Union Jack come down and our flag the Red, White and Black, go up and flutter in the breeze.”

Tags Independence, patriotism

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Defining our vision for human development

Post author By Web administrator
Post date August 21, 2016

CCSJ members add our name to the list of those who are asking Cabinet to revisit its decision to discontinue the Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) funding for persons over the age of 50 years.

It is noted that those over 50s already enrolled in undergraduate programmes will still be able to access GATE. Although age is not a ‘status’ under TT’s Equal Opportunity Act (Chap 22:03), the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), as stated in its press release on this issue, has submitted proposals to the office of the Attorney General for the act to be amended to include age as a status ground.

Tags education

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Building inter-religious dialogue to defend life

Post author By Web administrator
Post date August 14, 2016

“Let’s learn to live together, let’s be workers for peace.” These are the words of Roselyne Hamel, uttered at the funeral of her brother, Fr Jacques Hamel, at Rouen Cathedral recently. Eighty-eight-year-old Fr Jacques, assistant parish priest in the small town of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, Normandy, was murdered by two 19-year-old ISIS sympathisers while he said Mass on 26 July.

Pope Francis told reporters on a flight back to Rome from World Youth Day in Poland: “I think it is not right to identify Islam with terrorism. It is not right and it is not true.” The fact is that most of the 1.6 billion Muslims (about 22 per cent of the world’s population) in our world are peace-loving people. It is significant that hundreds of Muslims attended Fr Jacques’ funeral and Masses in Italy and France as a show of solidarity and love for Christians.

Tags religion

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Discover and develop ‘your treasure’

Post author By Web administrator
Post date August 7, 2016

Today’s Gospel is replete with messages for us (Luke: 12: 32-48 on being ready for the Master’s return). I wish to focus on a particular line which is of key importance in today’s world: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

One can interpret these words in many ways. I want us to reflect on the virtues that should underpin our lives. Our treasure lies in Christian virtues – a habitual and firm disposition to do good. If we inculcate these in our hearts and live by them, we will surely be ready for the Master’s return. As St Gregory of Nyssa said: “The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.”

Tags Youth