‘Martin the charitable’ – patron saint of social justice 

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI  Today we celebrate the Feast of St Martin de Porres ,who was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. His father was a Spanish gentleman and his mother a freed slave from Panama. Inter alia, he is the patron saint of social justice and race relations. I recall […]

Saying ‘Thanks’ 

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI  “Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality.” (Alfred Painter)  On behalf of CCSJ, I would like to thank all those who helped to make our 4th Respect for Life Week a memorable one. Our theme this year was: Regenerating the Moral and […]

All life matters 

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI  CCSJ invites you to attend a free International Conference on Tuesday, October 1 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Law Faculty Auditorium, UWI, St Augustine, on the theme: The Death Penalty in the context of Public Security: Neither Right, nor Effective. The Conference is a […]

Called to be counter-cultural 

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI  As I looked at the beaming faces of those who filled the pews and chairs at the Church of Our Lady of Fatima, Curepe, to participate in the Episcopal ordination of Msgr Robert Llanos as Auxiliary Bishop of Port of Spain on September 14, my heart was […]

Citizens of good character make a nation strong 

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI  Today, September 15, the world observes International Day of Democracy. While democracies share common features, there is no single model of democracy. The theme this year is Strengthening Voices for Democracy. The aim is “to shine a spotlight on the importance of people’s voices, both expressed directly […]

Engaging our youth to build our Democracy 

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI  “Democracy is fundamentally a ‘system’ and as such is a means and not an end.  Its ‘moral’ value is not automatic, but depends on conformity to the moral law to which it, like every other form of human behaviour, must be subject: in other words, its morality […]

Literacies for the 21st Century 

by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI   “Literacy is the most basic currency of the knowledge economy we’re living in today…in a world where knowledge truly is power and literacy is the skill that unlocks the gates of opportunity and success, we all have a responsibility as parents and librarians, educators and citizens, to […]

Charity and Church go hand in hand 

by Nadine Bushell, Member of the Catholic Commission for Social Justice  The United Nations has designated September 5 as the International Day of Charity and has acknowledged the work of the Church in this area.  The United Nations declaration stated:“Recognising the efforts of charitable organisations and individuals, including the work of Mother Teresa,  1. Decides […]

How Catholics can be faithful citizens 

by Nadine Bushell, member of the CCSJ  Last week we looked at our role as Catholics in relation to elections and political parties.  This week we will reflect on our overall role in steering our country on the right path.  Our newspapers tell us all too well about the many ills in Trinidad and Tobago […]

Our role in party politics 

by Nadine Bushell, member of the CCSJ  Elections and party politics are very much in the air in Trinidad and Tobago.  The Tobago elections were held in January of this year, the Chaguanas West by-election took place last month and the country is heading towards Local Government elections.  There are varying reactions to the politically […]