by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
In today’s Gospel (Matthew 16:13-19), we read about Peter’s profession of faith. By our baptism we accept that Jesus Christ is the “Son of the living God”. Peter was the rock on which Jesus built his Church. Today, Jesus expects us, His followers, to continue Peter’s work.
Each of us is called to work in the Lord’s vineyard. As well as being Chair of CCSJ, I am involved in a number of other organisations on a voluntary basis. I am also Chair of the Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL), a not-for-profit civil society organisation established on October 2, 2013 by activists and organisations from twelve Greater Caribbean countries following an International Conference held in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on October 1, 2013.
GCL is incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Our ultimate goal is the permanent abolition of the death penalty in every country in the Greater Caribbean and the creation of a culture of respect for the human right to life and the inherent dignity of all human beings.
As Chair of GCL, I was invited to deliver an address at the June 20-22 World Coalition Against the Death Penalty’s General Assembly in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to share progress that we are making in this region. To date, about 140 countries around the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. There is a global trend to move away from the death penalty and to find non-lethal means of protecting societies from offenders.
Para 2267 of our Catholic Catechism draws from St John Paul II’s encyclical, The Gospel of Life, and states: “The cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity ‘are very rare, if not practically non-existent’.”
The 2012 UNDP report Human Development and the Shift to Better Citizen Security urges us to provide a better balance between law enforcement and preventive measures – with an emphasis on preventive measures. The 13 retentionist countries in our region, mainly English-speaking countries, know that because of the ruling in Pratt and Morgan (1994), it is difficult to implement the death penalty; yet, it remains in our criminal code. In October 2013, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) advised Caribbean countries that still have the death penalty in their Criminal Codes to abolish or at least impose a moratorium on its application. Let’s focus on the root causes of crime.
I am also the Chair of T&T’s Education Discussion Group (EDG), a not-for-profit organisation which was established in 2004. On June 25, members launched a Special Edition of an EDG Journal in memory of our founder, Prof Emeritus John Spence. Prof Clement Sankat, Pro Vice Chancellor and Principal of UWI’s St Augustine campus, kindly allowed us to launch the Journal in his office. The Journal will be available online in due course.
As our media pack states: “The EDG is composed of about fifteen professionals in several fields, most of which touch directly or indirectly on their main concern – education of our children, young people and adult learners. EDG members gather at regular monthly meetings to discuss the major societal problems that may impact on and/or are affected by the educational system. Members believe that education is the key element in the civilising process. They aim to propose and foster vital changes in our education structure that will result in a better quality of life for us all. To achieve this aim, members seek to stimulate discussion on all aspects of the education system and to engage in this discussion as wide as possible a circle of persons who are interested in education.
“The major problems identified by members in 2004 still challenge us in T&T today. They are: crime; poverty and the widening gap between rich and poor; potential for ethnic divisions; lack of insight into measures needed for sustainable economic growth; and poor leadership and management in the public and private sectors. These five major issues, which are interrelated, may so adversely affect our society as to result in a poor quality of life for us all… materialism and selfishness cause us to lack the motivation to tackle these issues even when we can think clearly about them and have the power to effect change…Parenting is, in many instances, a part of the problem, but to effect change…we also have to nurture a new generation of parents who are all well educated and with high ethical values. This can only be achieved by better schooling and it means that we have to put a greater responsibility on the education system and consequently on the teachers.”
Over the years, the Group has met with at least two Ministers of Education and have forwarded to the Ministry of Education recommendations that could improve our education system. The Journal contains some of these.
May Prof Spence rest in peace.
