By Sue-Ann Wayow
CHILDREN have to be safe, have to be protected and have to be kept protected, no matter what it costs.
This was the statement made by Archbishop of Port of Spain Charles Jason Gordon on Monday.
He made the statement following the celebration of mass for the memoria of the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church.
Gordon spoke on the issue of child abuse within children’s homes in Trinidad and Tobago.
He said, “The church is mother and mother has to care for her children a lot better to ensure that each is protected, and each child lives and has great space to love and to flourish.”
The Archbishop added that he has rushed into action because the problem was very deep but that the church will do what it can to ensure children’s protection.
“I have been having profound conversations with key people to understand what’s the nature of the problem and what’s the best thing we, as Church, can do to put it right… One child being abused in a home or in a family is one too many, and we are going to do everything we can to ensure that we keep our homes as safe as humanly possible,” Gordon said.
He said that later this week, the church will share the names of the small team of independent professionals who have agreed to work on recommendations to bring the homes to the highest standards of safety.
