Cardinal Fernando Filoni says the Roman Catholic Church in T&T is seen as the mother church in the Antilles, but like other churches in the region it faces challenges. Delivering the homily at the pro-catheral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in San Fernando on Saturday night, Filoni also said the Church must not be afraid to invite young people into the priesthood. The Mass was held to mark the first Sunday in Advent.
Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for Evangelisation of Peoples, said: “The mission of Christ needs those who would respond unequivocally to the invitation of the master, who is inviting some to give the best they have for the service of the gospel. “Let us, therefore, not be afraid to invite young people, even more, to call young people to the priesthood, to consecrated life, and to many other services in the Church.”
Saying that the world is in need of the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ, Filoni said the Church is the one being sent out to announce it. “This sense of urgency and expectation is also a central theme during the season of Advent, which reminds us that we are now in a period of waiting, expecting for the Lord to come again, for judgment and to bring all things to completion,” he said.
“The Church in T&T has a particular responsibility for this mission here, in this Caribbean region, since it is rightly seen as the mother church to many of the other particular churches in the Antilles. “The Archdiocese of Port-of-Spain is faithful to the invitation it has received from Jesus, and it continues to respond to the Lord’s invitation to mission.”
However, the Cardinal said like all of the other local churches in this region, the Archdiocese (PoS) faces many challenges in its mission to make the love of God visible, of announcing the Risen Lord, and of inviting people into full communion with Him. He said: “One challenge is the secularist world view that relativises the faith, creating laissez-faire attitudes, which have led to ambiguity in moral values and doubt, which have resulted in a diminishment on the practice of the faith, especially among the poor.”
Linked to this is another great challenge, namely, the presence of the poor, who were no recipients of the economic benefits of developments, he added. Filoni said the mission of Christ needs those who would respond unequivocally to the invitation of the master, who is inviting some to give the best they have for the service of the gospel.
Specially invited guests included San Fernando mayor Kazim Hosein, deputy mayor Junia Regrello, vicars and episcopal delegates of the archdiocese, ambassadors and heads of missions. President Anthony Carmona was also invited, but he did not attend.