FEUDING in the Roman Catholic Church in Grenada has resulted in an attempt to remove Trinidadian Bishop Clyde Harvey from the position.
The move follows Harvey’s suspension of local priest Fr Gerard Paul from the priesthood, over Paul’s open criticism from the pulpit against him and the hierarchy of the Church on their silence, in what he called Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza in the war against Hamas.
A court bailiff hand-delivered Harvey’s two-page letter of suspension to Paul on Saturday, informing him he would not be allowed to perform duties as the parish priest at the Holy Family Catholic Church, River Sallee, St Patrick.
Paul defied the suspension and presided over Sunday mass at his church in River Sallee to preach to a congregation of about 70, including members of the media.
A report in The New Today said during his homily, Paul continued to preach on what he described as the evil nation of Israel which continued to starve and kill Palestinians, and at the end of the mass, assigned blame to Harvey for the departure of five African priests from Grenada.
He said Harvey was now targeting him as the sixth priest, but warned he would not succeed.
Paul has started a petition to remove Harvey and, the local Grenadian newspaper reported that parishioners assembled around a table at the church’s exit to sign the petition after Paul announced the launch of a campaign against Harvey for suspending him.
Paul has promised to take the petition to all Catholics on the island as well as in the Caribbean and the diaspora to have Harvey removed. Paul also plans to send a letter to the Vatican to explain his side of the controversy.
He accused Harvey of poor leadership since his assumption of the post some seven years ago.
Harvey has reached the mandatory retirement age as Bishop but has been given a two-year extension by Rome while the search continues for his successor.
The two clergy men have been engaged in a feud over the past three weeks, since Paul’s open criticism of the church.
Attempts to have TT Archbishop Jason Gordon comment on the issue was met with silence.
A statement from his desk following an annual plenary meeting of the Antilles Episcopal Conference 68th Annual Plenary Meeting in Nassau, Bahamas, stated that the synodality (a term used to describe the process of fraternal collaboration) requires inner transformation.
The statement said, “A safe space must be created among the bishops, clergy, religious, and the people of God.
At the session, the statement said, “The bishops listened intently to Bishop Clyde Harvey speaking about the unfolding situation in the Grenadian Church. They expressed solidarity with the People of God of Grenada and its shepherd and offered continued support and prayer to bring healing and reconciliation.
“In a spirit of synodality, the bishops discerned the urgency to address four pastoral issues in the regional Church – Evangelisation and Discipleship Formation, Catholic Education, Domestic Church, and vocation. These pastoral matters wi
