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Monsignor Albert PROMINENT ROMAN Cath-olic priest, Monsignor Richard Albert, yesterday reaffirmed his commitment to Jamaica when he was sworn in as a citizen.
The ceremony, which took place at the offices of the Ministry of National Security and Justice, Ocean Boulevard, Downtown, Kingston came 25 years after Father Albert, then a newly ordained priest, first journeyed to Jamaica in 1976.
Speaking from his Stella Maris rectory in Kingston yesterday, Father Albert said he felt great and that this move was "part of an expression of respect" for the country that has been so good to him over the last 25 years.
He added that the ceremony represented his commitment to nation-building and Jamaica's inner-city communities where he could continue to contribute through education and training. "I'm staying. With the grace of God, I hope to continue to give more years of service to the poor and humble in the inner-city communities," he pledged.
Well known, Father Albert was featured several months ago on the CBS television news programme 60 Minutes for his work in the Jamaican inner-city communities.
Monsignor Albert said his main concern was poverty and said that there were deeper problems facing the society than nude nuptials.
"Our attention should be on trying to help people, on trying to build better communities and on trying to improve the lives of each other. I am just coming back from downtown Kingston where scores of children are shoeless and naked. I see women selling themselves to earn a living, this is where our focus should be," he said.
