Religious leaders express concern about the sexualisation of children under the treaty
Feeling disrespected by the government’s determination to sign a controversial treaty that promotes abortion, the sexualization of children, and LGBTQ rights, the church community has signalled its intention to mobilise congregations across the island to protest.
The Coalition for a Health Society, with the support of several para-church groups, has been writing letters to the Office of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson-Smith, over the last two years to register their concerns about the ACP-EU treaty, which is to be signed by June. The groups were informed during a meeting with representatives of the Foreign Affairs Ministry last week that the government intends to sign the agreement, which is legally binding for the next 20 years.
This stance contradicts a statement that the minister with responsibility for information, Robert Morgan, relayed on behalf of Johnson-Smith at a Town Hall meeting in September 2022, that the government would not sign any such thing to influence the minds of our children. Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who was at that same town hall meeting, said he had been hearing the concerns and was assured that there was nothing to worry about. He, however, pledged to take another look at the issue.
During a meeting attended by Love March Movement president Dr. Daniel Thomas, Dr. Alvin Bailey of the Jamaica Evangelical Alliance, the chairman of the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches, Dr. Elaine McCarthy, and other influential church leaders, it was made clear that the church is unhappy with the recent developments.
Dr. Bailey said the intention is first to write a letter to Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Governor General Sir Patrick Allen requesting a meeting to discuss the issues. In the interim, church leaders were encouraged to educate their congregants about the ACP-EU agreement and the implications for Jamaica if it were signed.
“All of us are responsible to inform our respective constituents and the nation as best as possible through the public medium or media that we have, so that when the time comes, persons would be pretty much conversant with this matter,” said Bishop Bailey.
A public gathering, similar to the ones organised by the churches in 2012, two years later in 2014, and again in 2015 to lobby the government to leave the buggery law in place, is being contemplated.
Church leaders have agreed that this will be the final action taken if the government refuses to give consideration to their concerns. During the 2015 national gathering, church leaders from several denominations gathered in Half-Way-Tree and were united as they urged the government to resist any international efforts to introduce same-sex marriages and homosexuality in the country.
“Let’s do what we can do publicly to get their [the government’s] attention, and we know how to do that,” said Bishop Rowan Edwards.
Evangelist Errol Rattray echoed similar sentiments and insisted that just writing letters to government officials was not achieving the desired outcome. The senior clergyman who spearheaded a national clean-up campaign during the 2007 World Cup in Jamaica said mobilising the churches is necessary at this time.
The churches are particularly concerned about Article 36, which promotes sexual and reproductive health that is widely interpreted to mean abortion, and Article 48, which encourages comprehensive sexuality education. The Jamaican society was outraged by previous attempts to introduce sexuality education that, among other things, promoted homosexuality among children.
Dr. Thomas, who has been at the forefront of the discussions along with the representatives from the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, said the government was encouraged to add a clause in the agreement to protect Jamaica’s sovereignty, but that recommendation was turned down.
“The caveat would say the signing of the treaty would not go against [our] national sovereignty and would not be understood to impose sexual and reproductive health, which is abortion rights or any kind of LGBT rights, and we reserve the right to interpret it the way that we would like,” he said.
Dr. Thomas noted that from the discussions with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, it is obvious that the government sees no issue with signing the document in its current form. The government officials insisted that they can interpret certain terms like “human rights” in keeping with Jamaica’s constitution, culture, and values. The ACP-EU Treaty was traditionally focused on trade, but this current version of the agreement has prioritised human rights.
“We are trying to point out to them, essentially for the last two years, that this document does not allow for any random interpretation of these terms. It is not defined in the document and the European Union is the party with the power in this agreement, which was essentially a trade agreement,” said Dr. Thomas.
“It is a threat to the next generation. Can you imagine 20 years of teaching our children this perverted content? They would brainwash a whole generation and pave the way for the removal of the buggery law, same-sex marriage, and abortion rights,” he said.
After years of lobbying against same-sex unions, which have been legalised in Europe and Western countries like the UK, Canada, and most recently the United States, the church leaders said they intend to continue their advocacy.
“Anybody who allows this thing upon us should never again be allowed into leadership in this country,” one church leader insisted.