Bishop Offers Condolences

Statement from the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago

On behalf of the Anglican Church in the Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago I wish to extend sincerest condolences to the bereaved families of the students – De-Neil and Mark, who were shot and killed in a brazen and outrageous act of evil and terror. I invite you to pray for the consolation and peace of the families. At the same time we must pray for the institutions that must effect justice and ensure peace as we collectively strive to turn back this escalation of murder and terror foisted on our nation, even on our children and on those two students on Thursday 21st. The Church is deeply pained by the continued rate of murders in our country, the majority of whom are young men. We have adopted as a theme for 2016 “Stewardship: Nurturing boys, Forming Men for God’s kingdom.” This latest incident involving the death of these two children, opens before us the magnitude of the task ahead. This mindless assault on the teenagers violates all our sensibilities and injures further the very soul of our Nation. We unreservedly condemn the action!

Children are a most precious resource. They are the present and future of this nation and the world and every effort must be made to nurture them to the fulfilment of their potential. They must be protected from all predators. The Church therefore condemns the actions of those who are possessed by destructive and murderous passions. We stand in solidarity with the grieving parents of these boys, with their hurting families, with our community that needs guidance and direction and with our Nation that is in desperate need of cleansing and healing. We must continue to pray for the children and to memorialize De-Neil and Mark as a campaign against this evil.

At the same time, we must remind our children that evil is not to be toyed with and that vengeance is the Lord’s. We are indeed sorry about this latest development and we pray for God’s peace upon us. Our Church remains open and willing to minister to all. May De-Neil and Mark rest in peace!

+Claude Berkley
Anglican Bishop.