“Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen.”
– PAUL, Letter to The Hebrews (11:1)
“The schools insisted on being the ones who made the determination as to the ability or lack of ability of the teachers without outside interference. The folly of their position clearly became evident in a recent teaching problem that has resulted in students being denied their right to proper education.”
– LETTERS TO THE EDITOR, pg. 2, The Reporter, Sunday, April 18, 2010
Beloved, the Church is a religion, which is to say, it is a group of people who have certain beliefs about an eternal, supernatural God, and how best to serve that Divinity in order to achieve happiness on earth and eternal life in the hereafter.
But, over the two thousand years since the early Christians were sacrificing their limbs and their lives for their faith, the Church has become a business, and businesses have political interests in the real world. The individual clergy of the Church take vows of personal poverty, but the Church itself does not. In fact, in order to educate, house, feed and clothe its clergy, the Church must have financial resources and material assets.
Strictly speaking, the clergy are a professional clergy, not an amateur one. It is true that the clergy do not receive a salary as such, but they are guaranteed the wherewithal of life. The clergy are not paid with money, but in kind. They do not work for free. Thus, the Church is a business. It has to be.
In the early sixteenth century, the Church had become corrupt in Europe. The most provocative matter where those who rebelled against the Church were concerned, was the sale of indulgences. In return for money, you could buy certain supernatural favors and benefits from the clergy. Another grievance of those who rebelled against the Church in what is historically referred to as the Reformation, was the lockdown on Holy Scriptures by the Church. Before the Reformation, the common people did not have the access to the Bible that we enjoy today.
The Church fought back against the Reformation with a surge which was described in the sixteenth century as the Counter-Reformation. This was the purpose for which the wounded Spanish soldier, Ignatius Loyola, founded the Jesuit order in the 1540s. The Jesuits were intended to be soldiers in the service of the Catholic religion. And the Jesuits led the Church’s efforts to cleanse itself and reclaim its prestige and power.
The Jesuits over the centuries since their founding became famous for their magnificent schools, especially high schools and universities, all over the so-called free world. These schools were so superb that the political leaders of countries in which they were located did not pay close attention to what was being taught by the Jesuits, which is to say, the curriculum in their schools. It was only in times of unrest that political leaders would realize that there was a political agenda involved with these schools, and history has many instances of the Jesuits being expelled from countries all over the world. In fact, such countries include Mexico and Guatemala. The Jesuits were not expelled because of their religion. They were expelled because of their politics, which is wrapped up inside their education.
In British Honduras/ Belize, I have become perhaps the best known public critic of the Jesuits in Belize. This has taken place over a period of 41 years. My bone of contention was the curriculum in their schools, a curriculum which did not include African or Indian (Mayan) history. In 1969, I used the term “Indian” to refer to all the indigenous people of our Western Hemisphere. Today, many Belizeans prefer to focus on Mayan history, and leave it at that. But, there are many indigenous Americans who are not Maya. The problem is that “Indian” is confusing, in that when we use the term in this region of the world, we are not referring to the people of India, which is a very large nation state in Asia. But, the people of India are called “Indians.”
Incidentally, when we Belizean “baby boomers” attended St. John’s College some fifty years ago, the place was, overall, a macho institution. Even though the students from the Anglican and Methodist high schools referred to us, derisively, as “fada (Father) boys,” the Landivar campus did not have overt homosexual vibes. The Jesuit priests, like Frank Stobie and Francis Cull, and the Jesuit scholastics, like Alvin Roy, were having problems with sexual and emotional attraction to women, not men. That’s as far as I, personally, could see. Remember, the Jesuits have to take vows of celibacy, which means no sexual contact.
What the Jesuits in Belize teach their students is basically what the ruling classes of Belize want to be taught, so that for many years I was a lone voice crying in the wilderness about African and Indian (Mayan) history. This has changed a bit, but the Jesuits unquestionably remain in complete control of their curriculum. Their power in education is so great that all of Belize’s electoral politicians have to toe the line where absolute respect for the Church is concerned.
And, what has happened to yours truly is this: Whenever I criticize the absence of our ancestors’ history from the school curriculum, or make any other comment skeptical of the Church’s politics in Belize, the Church faithful are told that I am criticizing their religion. Religion is an emotional involvement with faith, and the faithful react in an instinctive and hostile manner to criticism of their dogmas and doctrines. A man would be an idiot to speak negatively about anybody’s religious beliefs. I have never criticized the Church’s dogmas and doctrines. I have complained about their school curriculum where the absence of African and Indian (Mayan) history is concerned. I can say this a thousand times, and it won’t matter. I will continue to pay a price for my position.
Today, the Church is under fire all over planet earth because of the sexual abuse which has involved members of their clergy taking advantage of children. Evidence is growing that Church authorities, instead of reporting the criminals to civil authorities, tried to cover up these matters, and did so for decades.
I know of such child abuse cases in the local Church, but I have not made public accusations. The pressure on me because of the history matter has been too great. The Church in Belize must immediately investigate itself and dedicate itself to the process of institutional cleansing. I will support such an investigation and cleansing. I do not consider myself a Roman Catholic, but neither do I consider myself an enemy of Roman Catholics. Let it be written. Let it be done.