Gov't should play no role in Pinnacle fight
Published:Thursday | March 6, 2014 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I have been reading and hearing so much misleading information concerning Leonard Howell and Pinnacle that it could take columns to clarify the issue. I believe that Rastafarians, like all other Jamaicans, have the right to hold whatever religious beliefs they choose and to declare as holy ground any piece of land to which they have legal rights. However, I do not think the Government has any business becoming involved in such matters. God does not wear any robe of office.
Our parliamentarians were not elected to serve the spiritual needs of any person or denomination. Should they be allowed to mix the business of Church and State, it would lead to further divisiveness in the society.
If it can be justified, the Government may honour Mr Howell for starting a Jamaican movement that has spread far and wide, but to do so would require similar recognition for the Reverend Mary Coore who, in 1924, was co-founder of the City Missions Church.
This home-grown Jamaican organisation now has over 60 churches in the island and has developed many branches in the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Ken Jones