Roman Catholic Archbishop Jason Gordon said citizens have a responsibility to exercise the same devotion they do to Jesus Christ, towards each other.
In his Corpus Christ homily at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Port of Spain, Archbishop Gordon urged citizens to demonstrate deeper respect for one another and warned that if efforts are not made to arrest the current situation, it could mean continued disrespect for Jesus Christ.
He said: “We are the body of Christ,” he told the packed congregation, adding that citizens have a responsibility to exercise the same devotion they do to Jesus Christ, towards each other.
“If we are Christ body, then how we treat each other is really important. Would you want to see somebody disrespecting the Eucharist? Disrespecting the Eucharist is disrespecting Jesus.”
He urged the congregation to heed the call by Pope Francis for everyone to walk together.
“As we are walking together, we have to learn to love one another, to respect one another, to listen to one another, to treat one another better,” he said.
“Do you think Trinidad and Tobago needs this? The levels of disrespect we are seeing in our society today is the level of disrespect that is being (shown) to God himself.”
Archbishop Gordon said it is important to see each other as belonging to the body of Christ because “then we can’t treat each other with disrespect.”
Instead, people have to learn to love one another and accept differences with dignity and beauty which in turn would engender a deeper respect for human life. He said introspection is needed by individuals to consider how they treat each other and if they are living and walking with one another as God would want.
Yesterday’s mass and subsequent procession was attended by students from primary and secondary schools in the Port-of-Spain Education District, including a full turn-out of Boy Scouts from Fatima College.