DEAR EDITOR: With reference to the front page story in the Jan 20 edition of the Catholic News, "Caribbean Church Gives Thanks", I was a bit taken aback that absolutely no mention was made in the article of the Benedictine birth and nurturing of the Seminary for the first half of its existence. 

The "YES" of Prior Hugh that made it possible in the first instance, the hosting of the Institution on the property of the Monastery, the toil and sweat of several dedicated Benedictine monks are but some of the factors that have allowed the Seminary to complete 65 years of existence. 

I merely draw this to the attention of your readers for the sake of historical integrity and so that the love of the monks may not be forgotten.
Yours in Christ!
Abbot John Pereira, OSB

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Benedictine community and their role in the history of the Regional Seminary was part of the Prayer of the Faithful at the 65th anniversary Mass.

DEAR EDITOR: As a travelling Catholic, as I would like to call myself, I tend to visit many communities to see how various communities conduct their weekend worship.

Thus far, I am seeing the same thing which is causing some concern to me.

Firstly, immediately after the homily or sermon, the priest or lay minister would ask the congregation to stand for the creed leaving little or no room for the congregation to even get at least a minute to reflect on the words that were just heard.

I know that time is of the essence but at the same time, people should get time to digest, to internalise the words and see how the gospel reflects on our lives.

I am also very concerned about the surrounding environments of some of our churches, the garbage and the lawns seem to be lacking attention and I cannot understand how people could be comfortable coming to worship with an unkempt lawn, rotten doors, or a lot of garbage bags or lack of a proper garbage disposal system in front of their churches.

Even the next door neighbours tend to play their music loud in some communities while church is in progress. People, we need to speak out and see how best we can improve our surroundings, speak to our neighbours with a kind but stern heart about the volume of their music while evangelising at the same time.
S Smith, USA

DEAR EDITOR: All praise and thanks to Almighty God! The old people say, “When God can’t come he sends a man.” Today, I thank God for sending Fr Karuna Kumar to Trinidad and Tobago especially to Princes Town.

We thank Fr Kumar for saying yes. He comes to us from India to teach and remind us that our Roman Catholic faith is dynamic and totally biblical.

In less than one year Fr Kumar has taught the parishioners of Princes Town and the outstations of Hardbargain and Lengua that we serve a living God in the traditional practices of our Church.

He stresses that we need to give at least one and half hours per week to serving God, without complaining, as our heavenly Father has given us countless hours for ourselves and our families. He shows us at every weekend Mass the connection between our practices and those of the Bible.

He also displays a deep concern for family worship as we are reminded without fail about the importance of having all members of our families present at Holy Mass as this will build strong holy families and therefore a holy nation.

We therefore ask that Archbishop Gilbert afford us the opportunity to continue experiencing our faith every more deeply as we pray our new parish priest Fr Kumar stays with us for many years to come.

Fr Kumar may God continue to grant you wisdom and strength in your ministry. Welcome to sweet Trinidad and Tobago.
Parishioners, Holy Cross, Princes Town

DEAR EDITOR: The Lift Every Voice Group extends thanks to all who attended the Thanksgiving of the Tenth Anniversary of the Group. \

Thanks to the two members of the Divine Mercy Group from Malabar parish and to all who contributed food hampers for the poor families. Specially remembered was Aldwyn Bart (deceased) for his support during the years.

Blessings to all, and a peaceful New Year. To God be the glory.
Our Motto for 2008 -  Sow Seeds of Love.
Cassilda Bart, Leader of Lift Every Voice Group

DEAR EDITOR: The out of control escalation of crime in our beloved country, the pictures of grief-stricken mothers at the sides of their murdered children, and the public protest at this unacceptable situation, has recently prompted a front page editorial in one of our daily newspapers and a multitude of feature writers’ comments.

This front page editorial has described the situation as “demonic”, and rightly so. But aren’t we forgetting that this country took a decision, with very few dissenting voices, to remove the Trinity Cross from our National Awards? To date, we have not been able to find a suitable replacement.

In fact, since then, like in the days of the tower of Babel, this country has been cast into confusion and strife. At the time of the Trinity Cross’ removal, I stressed three points:

1. This country, named after the Blessed Trinity, was under God’s protection.
2. The removal of the Trinity Cross was an insult to the Blessed Trinity.
3. It was totally unnecessary to remove the Trinity Cross. A simple solution would have been to retain the Trinity Cross and have an alternative award for non-Christians.

But of course, as is often the case in this country, there was no compromise, history was disregarded and the Trinity Cross was removed completely.

There will be no peace in this country until the Trinity Cross is replaced. Until then, the editorial’s demon will continue to stalk this land and its people and we have ourselves to blame.

If we want to see the power of God, and peace returned to our land, the Trinity Cross MUST be restored.
Dr Richard Clerk, Port of Spain