Roman Catholic priest Father Trevor Nathasingh yesterday recounted going to the Our Lady of Fatima Church in Upper Picton Road in Laventille for Sunday morning Mass earlier this year and finding several spent shells on the church’s compound.
When the police counted all the shells they collected 198 in total, Nathasingh said.
Nathasingh, the parish priest of the Laventille/Morvant/Success Village cluster, made the comment yesterday, as he lamented the ineffectiveness of churches in dealing with the country’s crime situation during the funeral for three people who were among five shot dead by police in Trou Macaque, Laventille, last Thursday.
He said gangs in the area use the Our Lady of Fatima church as a “shooting gallery” on Saturday nights to show off their fire-power to rival gangs down the hill.
One day, Nathasingh said he drove the entire length of Picton Road and counted 23 churches.
“So it ain’t have any shortage of church in this place, 23 churches on one road and yet there are murders like mad in this place, so certainly all of these spaces we call church are in fact ineffective, ineffective.
“You see, saying that you’re following this pastor or that pastor, or this priest or that imam doesn’t save you, you know, it is what you allow the word to do in your heart, to bring about change and transformation, so that when God calls, you would respond to the call of God,” Nathasingh said.
Nathasingh said he is of the view there were as many as 500 churches in the Morvant/Laventille area, but noted the community would be fooling itself if it thinks that would make a difference
“Because plenty buildings that they call church don’t save nobody,” he said.
Nathasingh performed the final rites on Shaundell St Clair and teenagers Kadeem Phillip and Shakeem Francois at the Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church in Laventille. Before the service began, Nathasingh called for all those who were delivering the eulogy to come forward. No one responded and there was no eulogy for any of dead trio.
Nathasingh then said he did not know the trio and would not speak about them. He said he met Francois once on the road.
While there was no eulogy, Nathasingh delivered a homily. In it, he repeatedly called on parents to take responsibility for their children.
“You are a mother, you are a father, make a choice to take responsibility for your children, take responsibility for the children you bring into this world don’t wait for somebody else to take responsibility for them,” he said.
Nathasingh said a school teacher’s job is to educate children and anything else is “extra.” He advised parents to seek divine intervention to help them with their children.
“Don’t stand up in the road and shout and bawl, get down on your knees and pray,” Nathasingh said.
“Our society needs heroes and heroines again,” he added.
He said the Bible lauded “peacemakers” and we need always to assume that role in conflicts.
“Vengeance is mine said the Lord,” Nathasingh said as he denounced any retaliation for the deaths of the trio.
As he delivered the closing prayer, Nathasingh asked for the protection of police officers and for justice to be served in the matter of the shooting death of the five.
As the bodies were being taken away to be buried in their respective graves, the mother of St Clair’s child, affectionately called “Baby,” became emotional. Her screams rang through the church.
“Who my child going to call Daddy now?” she screamed.
She was eventually taken away.
Students from the Morvant/Laventille Secondary School also came to say goodbye to their schoolmate Francois.