AEC Judical Vicars Meet

From Tuesday, April 20 to Thursday 22, Judicial Vicars of the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) and their associates, met in convention at the Regional Seminary at Mount St Benedict, to address matters dealing with marriage issues on which they are called upon to adjudicate in their various jurisdictions.

Discussions centered on issues like grounds for the nullity of marriages; the effects of culture on marriage validity; the machismo syndrome of the Caribbean male and the differences and benefits between diocesan and regional tribunals.

Following the convention, as is the norm, a full report on the deliberations was sent to the AEC.

Fr Joseph Harris, the judicial vicar (judge) of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, told the Catholic News the issue which generated the most animated discussion was the effects of the various local and varied cultures of the Caribbean, which impacted seriously on some unions, one of them being obeah.

He explained also how the way in which the law was written created a cultural disconnect, which in turn posed difficulty at times.

Fr Joe said, “The law is written in European category, which at times does not fit into the Caribbean category. While most of the judges, because of education, operate very easily within a technological mindset, the people whom they serve, very often do not operate in those areas.”

Providing an example, he added, “A technological mindset does not deal with obeah, so a skill the Judicial Vicars (judges) have to learn is how to translate what they hear into the categories given to them in the Code (Canon Law).”

While the convention was planned and executed by the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Port of Spain, Professor Augustine Mendonca, Professor Emeritus of St Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, masterfully guided its deliberations over the three days.

Some two dozen judicial vicars and their associates attended the convention, but on the second day that number jumped to 40 plus when local persons involved in the marriage ministry were invited to participate in the discussions.

On the last day of the convention elections were held and Fr Joseph Harris was elected as the new president of the Canon Law Society replacing Monsignor Michael Lewis of Jamaica. In addition to Fr Harris most of the new executive is from the Archdiocese of Port of Spain – Cherryl Mohamed, Vice Chancellor of the Archdiocese is the vice president and Barbara Salazar and Bernadette Salandy of the Marriage Tribunal are treasurer and secretary respectively. Other members of the new executive are former president Msgr Michael Lewis and consultors Msgr Michael Palud of Jamaica and Dominic Jeremiah of Grenada. The latter is principal of Presentation College, St George’s. – Vernon Khelawan

Catholic News
Sunday May 2nd, 2010