In the wake of the extravagant funeral rites in the National Arena for a so-called community don the leaders of the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) have voiced their own criticisms of the event and related concerns.
In particular the clergy have called for the truth about the relationship between politicians and dons, an issue we also raised in last Friday's editorial.
Indeed, as we noted, the society at large for more than 30 years has ignored the nexus between politicians and questionable characters in the criminal underworld. Past Prime Ministers have attended similar funerals. This time three Cabinet Ministers were at the rites in the National Arena; the Minister of Finance, in seeming defiance of public sentiment, said he was doing so "without apology".
We welcome the outspoken manner of the JCC on issues such as these, even as they level criticism at the public ambivalence about such issues. The division in the society about the police killing of the Braeton Seven was cited as an example.
It is important that the Church exert moral leadership in these issues. There is a tendency for the succession of crises which shake social stability to divide along partisan lines. It seems to us that, despite its own doctrinal divisions, the Church should be able to rise above the secular prejudices of political motivation.
We welcome the fact that the JCC annual meeting canvassed such social problems as the indiscipline which leads to roadblocks and attacks on public property. We support the notion one church leader voiced that the nation will only know true healing and freedom when the truth is known about guns, crime and violence, and the relationship between politicians and the dons.
We applaud the courage of the Reverend Dr. Howard Gregory for showing exemplary leadership of this grouping of the nation's older and long established Christian denominations. Other faiths and social groups as well as public and private power brokers should take heed.
