Both Leela Ramdeen, a consultant with the Catholic Commission for Social Justice, and Archbishop Jason Gordon, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Trinidad and Tobago, concur that homosexuality is not a crime. This statement was given by the Pope on Tuesday.
Ramdeen spoke on the subject over the weekend, saying, “The number is not negligible, which means the church is accepting there are quite a lot of people who are homosexual. This is a quote from our catechism, ‘They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. They call to fulfill God’s will in their life.’
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“So what in fact our church is saying is, while we do not accept that they should be discriminated against, we ask them the call to chastity.”
The Pope, according to her, made it plain that there is a difference between a crime and a sin.
“Being homosexual is not a crime”, according to Ramdeen. He added, “yes, but it’s a sin. First, let’s distinguish between a sin and a crime.”
“The Pope also said it’s a sin to lack charity with one another, meaning anybody who is not charitable, who wants to discriminate against homosexuals, that’s also a sin. Every child is a child of God. Everyone is a child of God, God doesn’t make rubbish.”
She brought up the Jason Jones case, which in 2018 reached the Privy Council.
Jones, a gay guy who resides in London but regularly travels to TT, always worries that he would be sentenced to 25 years in prison because of his sexual orientation.
“Why is it that while our colonial masters got rid of this so long ago, we want to put people in jail for 25 years, because they’re homosexual? There are so many other issues that we should be addressing.
As part of his response, Archbishop Gordon pointed Newsday to a 2018 essay he wrote for the Catholic TT website. He reiterated what Ramdeen said in this piece.
“Buggery is a serious moral offense, but it should not put someone in prison for 25 years.”
He continued, “There has been much debate on homosexuality over the last decade or so. The public perception has shifted significantly. Many countries including Ireland, England, and the United States have changed the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.
“It is now socially unacceptable to discriminate against a person over their sexual orientation or lifestyle. In a very short time, we have found ourselves in a very different social context when it comes to public sentiment on these issues.”
Moral concerns are not “a matter of emotion,” according to Gordon.
“It is not what you feel, or feel passionate about. It is a matter of reasoning from biblical principles and church teachings. I know a major objection is that repealing the buggery laws will open the door to same-sex marriage.
“These may well be strategies that are tied together. We need to deal with them separately. We will oppose same-sex marriage in every way possible. That is a different issue.”
