Fr. Rochester The following is a tribute by Kathy Roberts to Father Howard Rochester who was murdered recently in St. Catherine.
DURING THE course of your journey through life you do not often meet people who are deeply compassionate, kind and good-natured yet at the same time relentless in their attention to, and defense of, the disadvantaged, and angry at the injustice which render them so.
I found Father Howard Rochester to be such a man. We had a mutual interest the counselling profession and that was how we met, in a class, some four years ago. We studied together for a test for the better part of a day and that was when I first got to know the depth of his concern for the poor and his impatience with the status quo which he said 'keeps people in poverty for generations'.
I was impressed with this unpretentious priest who took his priestly calling and duties very seriously. But the rituals and trapping of his office were not his main concern. He once warned me not to refer to him as 'father' in class. I respected his wishes but used every opportunity to tease him, including beginning telephone conversations with the query "How is my 'father' friend today?" We were not of the same religious denomination but that did not matter, for we discussed, amicably, a range of religious and social issues.
Over the time I got glimpse of his work with the poor in his parish and realised that his chief concern in life was keeping in touch with the struggles and pains of the disadvantaged with whom he walked and talked, uncaring about any danger to himself. He saw wrong and tried to set it right. I concluded that this was indeed a brave man made of the stuff with which men and women like Martin Luther, Nelson Mandela, and the legendary Nanny were made. This man had the compassionate heart of Christ.
Father Howard was known for his fearlessness in speaking out against injustice and the wanton violence now sweeping our beloved country. His stance often caused me to reflect on the truth of Edmund Burke's statement, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." It is (sadly) ironic that his death, resulted from the very violence against which he often spoke.
So what specifically can be done? We can each begin, if we have not yet done so, to break this cycle of violence doing our part, in our small corners, wherever we are, by instilling in all the young ones under our influence some basic values a high regard for the sanctity of life, and basic moral values of love of God and care for our fellowmen.
Our women can refuse to turn a blind eye when they know their men are involved in wrongdoing. We can pray more fervently for God to change the hearts of those who are intent on doing evil, and use our influence to dissuade them. We can work to change the systems and structures which perpetuate injustice in this land and which create a climate in which wrong doing is seemingly a viable option. The answer to our problem seems so simple, yet is it out of our reach? I think not. Let us promote godliness! People who love and revere God do not kill and maim their fellowmen!
Can't we all see the difference? Between the Jamaica of the early 1960s and prior, when parents used to ensure that their children were taught how to live right, and today's Jamaica where children are left to grow up 'any ol' how' without tutoring and instruction of any kind, seemingly only interest in the immediate gratification of all their needs uncaring about impinging on the rights and welfare of others.
No wonder we now have a society where people build on land which does not belong to them! They were never taught about boundaries and respecting other people's possessions. No wonder many (though, thankfully, not all) of the minuscule percentage of our population who control the bulk of the wealth couldn't care less about how those at the bottom end of the scale manage to find a daily meal. It is not their concern. They were not taught how to share and use their position of strength to lift up the weak, in short, how to be their brother's keeper. We have produced a generation of people who are steeped in and driven by unadulterated selfishness.
And it is unfair to expect the beleaguered, often unappreciated and hard-working police force (or the government, for that matter) to 'fix' it. We are trying to tackle the problem at the wrong end. The police received the end product. It is from OUR homes that the criminals come so WE must fix it. We must focus on preventing rather than curing.
If each of us is determined to make our contribution to producing a new psyche in succeeding generations of Jamaicans teaching the children in our sphere of influence the ways of God, His ability to fundamentally change our hearts, attitude and behaviour we can begin to turn the tide towards a renewal of right living in this land. Prompted by our humility and willingness to turn from our wicked ways, God in His mercy will then grant us the satisfaction of seeing in our lifetime, something for which Father Howard lived and died a new Jamaica, free once again of crime and violence.
Walk good, my 'father' friend! Godspeed! See you on the other side!
