He is to have emblazoned on his archbishop's shield the motifs of the steel pan, the tassa and the chac-chac and has made the commitment to evangelise the culture of T&T. As readers would know, it was announced last week that Fr Joe Harris is the archbishop-elect of Port-of-Spain, with Monsignor Jason Gordon as bishop of the Catholic Church in Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The above decisions of Fr Joe, shared at weekend masses with his St Ann's parish, are instructive and flow directly from the fact of him being a national, understanding of the impulses, the needs of the society and culture. The early signal also gives an indication that for the new coadjutor, working with the outgoing archbishop, his focus is likely (my interpretation) to be on being the shepherd of his existing flock and renewing the work of evangelism of a faith that has been in decline here and elsewhere over recent decades. Ten years ago this column identified the appointment of a white American to succeed Archbishop Anthony Pantin to be a "neo-colonial imposition" after over 30 years of leadership by a national.
The column interpreted the appointment as yet another example of European civilisation determining that so-called Third World peoples could not look after themselves and therefore in need of further tutelage. And in such situations if it came to invoking the inspiration and direction of God to self-serve those interests, then so be it. When this column raised the appointment of a foreigner as archbishop and questioned the really silly reasons given to rationalise it, a few prominent members of the Catholic Church here told me that as a non-Catholic I should shut up (there were those who said it more diplomatically than others, the intention being the same though) and stay out of such matters. I suppose there will be those today who would repeat their injunction for me to keep quiet and not meddle in the affairs of the Catholic Church. But as I said then: "If the appointment of a white American as Archbishop of Port-of-Spain were an exclusively Catholic affair, isolated to a small corner of the society, having only to do with a couple hundred faithful members pledging allegiance to the Pope in Rome, I would have nothing to say on the matter. "But it is not In Trinidad and Tobago, the Catholic Church proselytised, built schools, looked after the homeless and the orphans, educated boys and girls of the privileged classes, and when forced too, opened their doors for others to get an education. The church here continues to be a major force in the politics of the country, in race relations and culture, in Carnival. It utilises and contributes to the resources of the State. I therefore, even though I am not Catholic, feel I have a right to comment."
My religious status has not changed, but I am once again pushing my mouth "in de Catho-lic people business." This time though it is to commend the return to local priests having the right to lead the church and continue the development of a theology grounded in the local culture. It is also a decision respectful of T&T as a nation as part of a Caribbean civilisation. Archbishop Gilbert, who I have no personal grievance against, he having little choice but to go where Rome sends him, in talking about the recommendations for his replacement, said he made them on the basis of the priests being suitable for the jobs and not on nationality. However, the archbishop, the papal nuncio and the Vatican must have been aware that to once again trample over national sensibilities could have been termed abusive of a people and in this era of people intervention, there could have been serious risks attached. More than that, acknowledging the right of a local to lead the church here encourages the emergence of self-respect and confidence, opens up the possibilities for personal and institutional growth, all aspects of the human personality which Jesus must have sought to infuse in his followers. The selection of Fr Joe Harris must certainly have been well received by large segments of the Catholic Church here. Of course there will always be some measure of disappointment and contention over the selection made. That I consider to be a matter for the church and its members and so I make no comment beyond saying that such contestations are natural whether it be secular or religious power at stake.
Back in July of 2008, at the celebration of the 40th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, attended by this columnist, I wrote a column which quoted a member of his St Ann's parish as referring to "Fr Joe as a priest and a half." Immediately he was so praised, "Fr Joe begged the community to pray for him in his own human condition, that of fallen man striving to make use of the grace of his God to rise above the state of total depravity and to lead those he has been given responsibility for to a similar place." With the task of having lead responsibility for the archdiocese, it would be natural for the priest from Arouca to continue to ask, in the humble manner he demonstrated at the anniversary celebration, for the prayers of his faithful flock for the work ahead. The success of the archbishop is important to demonstrate the capability and capacity of nationals and Caribbean people to build their civilisation out of what was left behind by those who governed in their own interest. More than that and in these times of globalisation, countries such as T&T must demonstrate that they have a contribution to make to world civilisation; that whether it be in jurisprudence, economic organisation and/or spirituality, we can develop a theology that is grounded in the Caribbean experience. In the appointment of a Trini-dadian, Monsignor Jason Gordon, as Bishop of Barbados and St Vincent and the Grenadines, countries with small Catholic popula- tions and without the history of T&T, as opposed to bringing some-one from outside the region, is a positive note of Caribbean togetherness.