A senior clergyman whose faith based organisation is currently receiving funding from an international agency has lamented the increasing pressure civil society organisations are coming under to promote values that are abnormal to Jamaicans.
The pastor, who does not wish to be identified, said already, one agency has ceased funding for the social outreach project his organisation was carrying out to assist the vulnerable because of his unwillingness to promote the western ideology of family, which he believes goes contrary to the Bible. While the pastor was commended for doing a good job in meeting the needs of the beneficiaries of the project, he was told that he had failed in accomplishing the real objective.
“We weren’t selected again because they were hoping that we would have been able to influence the church to soften its attitude against homosexuality. I would not do that, I went contrary to that,” he told the Freedom Come Rain newspaper.
The pastor, who said he is not opposed to taking money from these agencies to help the destitute, was surprised by the number of “consenting Christians” he came across, who refused to counter the ideologies of these mostly Western and European financiers. Although he is still being financed by one of these agencies, he said this has not prevented him from being vocal about the demonic agendas that Jamaica is being pushed into accepting in exchange for money.
“No matter how we change the law, we cannot change God’s order and God’s law,” said the pastor, who questioned the audacity of the international funders.
“I don’t think they should be promoting in Jamaica, what is now illegal in Jamaica. I think that is a disrespectful,” he declared.
The 2022 Annual report for Equality for All Foundation (EFAF), indicated that the European Union, Dutch Embassy, USAID, UNDP and The Global Fund were among the donors that financed its more than $180 million spend for that year. A total of $177 million of what the organization spent in 2022 was just from grant funding. The organisation, which was formerly called JFLAG represents the Gay, lesbian and bi-sexual community.
The senior pastor noted that even if the financiers are trying to insert their values on Jamaicans in exchange for financial support, the onus is on Christian advocacy groups and churches to protest these efforts.
“This is why we need to be out ahead and why we need to not just be preaching in the pulpit and we need to be in the newspapers, we need to be on the talk shows, we need to be wherever society is, we need to be like Jesus, in the marketplace, bringing these values, teaching about these things,” he admonished.
But while several Christian advocacy groups, including the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS), were very vocal in their stance last week that Jamaica should not sign the new comprehensive binding 20-year agreement with the European Union (EU), the deafening silence from a large section of the church on the matter was very obvious. In a press release which was widely circulated and carried by both secular and Christian media, the JCHS pointed to multiple clauses in the pending African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)- EU Agreement which was a threat to Jamaica’s sovereignty.
The JCHS, which had join forces with seven other groups to raise concerns about the agreement, noted that it would bind Jamaica to undefined human rights obligations that are tied to trade sanctions and it will reintroduce Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) back into schools despite parents’ outrage in 2012.
The Christian advocacy group then urged Jamaican’s to call or write the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) on Friday, November 10, to ask the government not to sign the agreement or at least enter a reservation. The group received a letter later that day from foreign affairs minister, Kamina-Johnson Smith who said given the concerns, Jamaica would hold off on signing the agreement on November 15 in Samoa.
Several civil society groups then signed a petition lobbying the Jamaican government to sign the agreement. Many of these groups are promoters of LGBT rights and climate change, two of the areas that are generously funded by the EU. While Jamaica was represented at the 46th session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, which took place right before the signature ceremony in Samoa on November 15, there was no official communication from the MFAFT up to press time stating whether Jamaica had maintained its stance to defer signing.
Nancy Pinchas, Executive Director of the CVSS
According to news reports from Samoa media, only 71 of the 79, African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) has signed the agreement. Of note is the fact that the International Islamic Figh Academy has also issued a press release expressing the same concerns about the ACP-EU agreement that were noted by the JCHC and other Christian advocacy groups locally and internationally.
Last month, the EU announced a partnership with the Council of Voluntary Social Services (CVSS) to build the capacity of civil society organisations that work in areas such as health, education and gender. Unlike with previous partnerships, the value of the funding was not disclosed.
“Central to our organisation’s initiatives is representing the concerns of the social sector, especially those representing the disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in Jamaica,” executive director of the CVSS, Nancy Pinchas said.
The proposed 30-month intervention will target the CVSS’ 135 members, local CSOs, community-based organisations and volunteer groups. There are are several faith-based organisations that are a part of the CVSS.