Ho Lung wants Hanna to apologise for Alpha Boys' remarks

Alessandro Boyd, Gleaner Writer

Father Richard Ho Lung, former head of Missionaries of the Poor, is calling on the youth and culture minister to apologise to the Sisters of Mercy and the boys of the Alpha Boys’ Home, following controversial statements that were made about the boys at the home last week.

“I pray for her and wish her all the best. Hopefully, she will see her error and apologise to the sisters and to the boys for the comments she has made,” he told The Gleaner yesterday.

At a press conference on April 8, Hanna said the Sisters of Mercy had decided to stop offering residential care and that they cited grave antisocial and predatory behaviour of children in the care system as a reason for doing so.

Hanna also said the challenge was further compounded by the high cost of care for each child, as a result of the more extensive interventions required to deal with the boys.

However, in a release to the media, the administrators of the home said the boys had been damaged by unfortunate statements made on the matter and cited financial challenges as the main reason for the closure of the home.

But in a letter to the sisters on Wednesday, which was released to the media, the youth minister said their statements gave an implication of wrongdoing on her part, which was unfair.

She pointed to documents provided by the home’s administrators outlining the challenges, which included the behavioural issues she highlighted at the press conference.

Hanna also said in her letter that one of the sisters had stated firmly that no amount of money would cause them to rethink the decision to close the residential care facility at Alpha.

“The sisters over the years have done a wonderful job, including producing great musicians, even up to our time. They have sacrificed most of their lives to this cause and it bothers me that she would say things like that,” Ho Lung said.

“On top of that, the poor little kids today, to be labelled as a house of homosexuals, I am not happy with it at all. It just seems to me that rather than creating excitement, people should try to understand and help these children,” Ho Lung added.
He continued, “These sisters have brought us so many wonderful Jamaican citizens; they have uplifted boys who are really poor and in trouble. I hope their work will inspire many others to join in the worthy cause.”