The 13th Annual Conference on Catholic Theology in the Caribbean Today concluded its sessions on the evening of Thursday, June 14 with a public lecture at the Diocesan Pastoral Centre in Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica.

Billed as “The Idris Hamid Memorial Lecture: A Festchrift for Fr Michel de Verteuil CSSp,” the occasion attracted a large cross-section of Dominica’s Catholic community comprising clergy, religious, lay persons and parishioners in a concrete but unwitting manifestation of the action-title of the Diocese’s Pastoral Plan, namely, Building Church Together.

Bishop Gabriel Malzaire, who maintained a presence at the Conference throughout its duration, opened the evening’s proceedings with a prayer before giving way to the evening’s Chairman, Dr Everard Johnston, lecturer in Biblical Theology and former dean of the Regional Seminary, St John Vianney and the Uganda Martyrs, Mount St Benedict, Trinidad.

Johnston, who presented a paper at the conference, delineated the evening’s schedule, which included a biographical video on the life and influence of Fr Michel de Verteuil and a panel presentation on Lectio Divina, the method of biblical study espoused by de Verteuil.

Together, the two events underscored the enduring rationale for the annual conference, namely, to assert a context for theological reflection on the Church in the Caribbean. In that regard, public tribute was paid to the late Rev Idris Hamid and Fr Michel de Verteuil by Msgr Patrick AB Anthony (Paba) for their pioneering roles in initiating theological discourse in the Caribbean.

The audience heard that Rev Hamid was not only an ordained Presbyterian minister and Principal of St Andrew’s Theological College in Trinidad, but also one who identified the need for sustained theological dialogue in the region.

Indeed, Hamid himself opined in his introduction to Troubling of the Waters (1973) that although many people in the region “worked out their own theologies in the privacy of their own minds and lives”, they were not given the opportunity “to test, challenge and encourage such reflections”.

Such thinking spawned the idea for a “Conference on Creative Theological Reflection” which was inaugurated in Jamaica on the May 3-4, 1973 and concluded in Trinidad on May 28-30, 1973. Additionally, Hamid was a firm proponent of ecumenism, his In Search of New Perspectives being a landmark contribution to the 1971 Ecumenical Consultation that was held in Trinidad.

Fr Michel and conference participants

Hamid’s initiative thus provided the impetus for the First Conference on Catholic Theology in the Caribbean that was held in St Lucia in 1994, hence the establishment of the Idris Hamid Memorial Lecture as an organic aspect of the conference from this year.

Seeing that Fr Michel de Verteuil was one of the founders of the theology conference, and participated in that inaugural conference in St Lucia with a paper entitled “A Theological Method for the Caribbean Today,” it seemed fitting that an exposition of the method should constitute the first Idris Hamid Memorial Lecture entitled “The Catholic Church and the Bible in the Caribbean: The Contribution of Fr Michel de Verteuil.”

 Informing the audience that the method proposed by de Verteuil was called lectio divina, Msgr Anthony disclosed that lectio divina was practiced in the early Church but then became neglected. As de Verteuil advises in his booklet Your Word is a Light for My Steps (1996), “community theology prevailed in the Church” up to the eighth century, but from then on, “and especially from the eleventh century, school or scholastic (as it came to be known) theology took over and has been dominant ever since”.

To de Verteuil’s credit, however, he began teaching the lectio method in different countries, his conviction being that through the method, “we become conscious that we are sacred stories, a consecrated nation, a priestly people” because “the Bible was written to tell us who we are, not merely who we should be or will become”. From that perspective, the panel presentation on the lectio method proved to be an appropriate culmination of the evening’s activities.

Comprising five persons who have been practicing lectio divina with Fr Michel de Verteuil over the past decade, the panel of Miriam Mannette, Bernadette Salandy, Gloria Bertrand, Linda Wyke, and Felix Edinborough demonstrated how applying the three-step process of reading, meditation and prayer to the Sunday Gospel could yield a homecoming story that would provide an opportunity for nostalgia, or reconciliation, or healing, or forgiveness, or joy, depending on what one is led to discover in the wisdom moment.

Altogether, the candid sharing by the panelists reinforced a truism about lectio divina, namely, that it “is not merely a method of Bible reading; it is a way of life, based on a certain understanding of God, the Church, ourselves and our spiritual growth” (1996: 25). The sharing captivated so many in the audience that there were requests for the lectio method to be imparted across the diocese.

The intrinsic bonding that was generated by the lectio divina sharing extended into the loud applause that greeted Fr Michel de Verteuil, Bro Sam and Bro Raymond, (both of the Holy Redeemer Retreat House where the Conference was held), when they received tokens of appreciation as the evening‘s proceedings were about to end.

On that jubilant note, Bishop Malzaire expressed his satisfaction with the conference and with the Idris Hamid Memorial Lecture, and then closed the conference with a prayer and blessing.

Dominica hosts conference

The 13th Conference on Catholic Theology in the Caribbean Today was held at the Holy Redeemer Retreat Centre in Dominica from June 11-15. The conference took the form of a “Festschrift for Fr Michel de Verteuil” following upon the one-day conference in his honour earlier in Trinidad.

Participants came from the host country, Dominica, as well as from Curaçao, Jamaica, St Lucia, the US, and Trinidad and Tobago. Duncan Wielzen of Suriname was unable to attend but sent his paper, which provoked lively discussion.

Feedback from the conference suggests that it was one of our best conferences, both from the point of view of quality of presentations and participation by lay participants.

The Idris Hamid Memorial lecture, celebrating the important contribution of the late Rev Dr Idris Hamid, former principal of St Andrew’s Theological College, San Fernando, to Christian Theology in the region, was launched, as was the Cheryl Hererra Memorial lecture, commemorating the tremendous contribution of the late Cheryl Herrera to our past conferences on Catholic Theology in the Caribbean today.

Fr Michel, our honoree, was well pleased with the proceedings. Organisation on the ground was excellent and the hospitality outstanding. Special thanks are due to Bernadette Salandy (Trinidad), Pat Charles (St Lucia), and Bros Sam and Raymond (Dominica) for their various contributions to the success of the conference.

Sincere thanks, finally, on behalf of the organising committee, to all participants.