Bishop Clyde Harvey has resigned as bishop of the diocese of St George’s, Grenada.
However, he will retain his appointment until a successor is found.
The revelation was made via a statement of intervention issued by Archbishop Gabriel Malzaire, Metropolitan Archbishop of Castries, St Lucia.
Malzaire said: “Bishop Harvey is the rightfully appointed bishop of the diocese of St George’s and must be respected as such. As required by canon law, he submitted his resignation on attaining his 75th birthday. The Holy Father Pope Francis, by letter of January 2024, asked him to remain as bishop of the diocese with full duties and rights until a new bishop is chosen and duly appointed.”
In Trinidad, Roman Catholic Archbishop Fr Jason Gordon, in a Facebook post, said he “stood in solidarity with the leadership of the Province of Castries Antilles Episcopal Conference and supports Archbishop Malzaire’s intervention and his decision to uphold Bishop Harvey’s instruction in accordance with Right Order.”
Gordon added: “I continue to pray for all the people of God in Grenada and for a peaceful resolution by all parties involved, in the spirit of brotherly love and grace.”
The development came less than a week after the Roman Catholic Church in Grenada announced a truce had been brokered, ending a feud between Harvey and Fr Gerald Paul.
The controversy began on March 27, 2024, at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, St George’s, and stemmed from subsequent statements made by Paul on various media platforms in which he accused the church in Grenada of not condemning the situation (war between Israel and Palestine) in Gaza.
“I call upon the church today to get its freedom and to get its voice and speak up for justice,” the priest (Paul) said, while calling the Gaza war a “wholesale slaughter of Palestinians and Muslims”.
He had made these statements on March 27 at the Chrism Mass (where the bishop blesses three oils which will be used in the administration of the sacraments year round. Following the statements Paul was suspended.
Earlier this month, Bishop Harvey said that Paul had “not been suspended because of what he had said about Gaza” but for his continued “lack of respect” for the church and his “pronouncements that often stray from the truth”.
Despite the announcement of a truce, less than a week later Paul started a campaign to have Harvey unseated.
In the statement of intervention, Malzaire also said the province’s leadership had expressed “sadness” at the situation unfolding in Grenada.
He said: “The leadership is ‘deeply saddened’ by the continued public display of disregard for headship, and the policies and processes of the church. The series of errant actions which occurred at, and following the annual Chrism Mass, has brought disrepute to the church and immeasurable hurt to the faithful. It has now become necessary for the leadership to intervene and to take action in accordance with the right order of the church.”
He added: “Consistent with the policies and processes of the church, it is the expectation that any instruction which Bishop Harvey, as duly appointed Bishop of the diocese, issues to members of the clergy in the diocese of St George’s in Grenada, must be adhered to. Any objection to such instruction must follow the requisite internal processes of enquiry and resolution. It is not the practice, nor the desired position of the church to address internal differences publicly.”
Malzaire also said they were “acting in accordance with canon law”, and “the removal of a bishop must follow due process”.
He said he is prepared to urgently hear and consider any objections which Fr Paul may wish to make concerning his suspension, or any complaints against his bishop.
On the way forward, he said: “I urge all the faithful to join me in fervent prayer for your bishop, clergy and lay faithful that the present tensions in the diocese may soon give way to a stronger united Christian community at the service of God’s people in Grenada.”