Bishops call for urgent action

BARBADOS

Two leading religious figures have expressed deep concern over the island’s recent surge in homicides and violent acts, describing it as a “serious situation” that requires urgent action.

Anglican Bishop Right Reverend Michael Maxwell and Catholic Bishop Neil Scantlebury of Bridgetown shared their views following a special Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral last July. They highlighted the alarming rise in violent crimes, particularly when compared to previous years.

“Both religious leaders stressed the importance of early intervention and community involvement in addressing the root causes of violence. They called for a collaborative effort involving schools, families, churches, and the wider society to tackle the growing problem of violent crime in Barbados,” said a Barbados Today report.

Bishop Scantlebury emphasised the need to teach values to young people: “We need to teach our youngsters, those in primary and secondary school, values. We need to teach them the value of forgiveness, we need to teach them the value of prayer, we need to teach them the value of looking to the other person with kindness and love. We need to teach them the values that would help them become better people.

“If we want a better Barbados, it starts with them, but it does not end there,” the Bishop said.

The online news source said the Catholic Church is also considering intervention sessions for at-risk families. Bishop Scantlebury added: “I’m thinking of doing healing sessions for families; all of our families are in need of healing. We individuals don’t realise the baggage that we are bringing along from our great parents and beyond, coming down the road with. Therefore, the healing of families is a very important tool,” he said.

Bishop Maxwell noted: “The fact that we had a record high in 2019, which was in the high 40s, and already for the middle of the year we are almost half that number which was a record high. That is very disturbing.”

Both leaders pointed to a breakdown in societal values and inadequate support systems as contributing factors. Bishop Maxwell said, “All of us in society have to be blamed for this in terms of the level of neglect that we may have been doing to persons coming through the school system, coming up in the home, even the Church at times.”

The bishops expressed particular concern about the increase in violence among young girls.

The Anglican diocese plans to launch programmes in schools to help students with anger management and other social challenges. “We need to target them as early as possible before they come out of school,” Bishop Maxwell said.