By Robert Hart, Staff ReporterWITH GOVERNMENT apparently looking again at potential benefits to the economy from casino gambling, several religious leaders yesterday reiterated the Church's opposition to legalising casinos in Jamaica.
The Government, led by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, at the three-day retreat in Montego Bay on the weekend with private sector leaders, identified tourism as the main catalyst for growth and agreed to carry out further studies on how casinos could benefit the Jamaican economy.
The Most Rev. Edgerton Clarke, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston, warned yesterday that games of chance foster a "get-rich-quick" mentality. "At present Jamaica needs no more. We need a proper work ethic," he said.
The Archbishop lamented what he described as "the hardening of our people in their approach to life". He said that the introduction of casino gambling in Jamaica would only add to the already existing depravity within the society.
"I think of some of the things that are already being done for tourism," he said, bemoaning events such as the February 14 nude weddings in Runaway Bay, St. Ann. Archbishop Clarke said that while people would focus on the revenue that may come into the society through casino gambling, "we need to consider the human cost".
Bishop Carmen Stewart, a leader of the Jamaica Pentecostal Union and Custos of St. Andrew, told The Gleaner that from a Christian point of view, she could never support casino gambling.
She said that those who would work toward the implementation of such activities must be very careful of the image they wish to portray. "We may attract more money from abroad, but we may also attract more undesirables," she said.
Canon Ernle Gordon, rector of St. Mary's Anglican Church, 99 Molynes Road, Kingston 20, a former vice-president of the Jamaica Council of Churches, told The Gleaner yesterday that it was a mistake for the Government to even consider the introduction of casinos as a way of rescuing the economy. He said that those who would welcome the decision did not understand the consequences of bringing casinos to the island.
Canon Gordon suggested, "We are looking at an easy route out."
Sharing the feeling of his colleagues was the Rev. C.S. Reid of Calvary Baptist Church, Montego Bay, the capital of Jamaica's tourism sector. He said that certain criminal elements enjoyed dipping their hands into the profits of casinos. "If we can't even handle our current crime situation, what will we do then?" he asked, suggesting that foreign Mafia might take an interest in Jamaica.
Bishop Herro Blair, Pastor of the Faith Cathedral Deliverance Centre, Waltham Park Road, Kingston, and Political Ombudsman, however, expressed a more "hopeful" perspective on the issue. "I don't think the Prime Minister would risk the wrath of the Church," he said.
Bishop Blair suggested that the Prime Minister's willingness to look into the issue was nothing more than a friendly gesture. He said he did not believe the Government would seriously contemplate such a change in policy.
Bishop Blair suggested, though, that there was a "degree of hypocrisy" involved in the handling of the issue of gambling. He said that, with a number of illegitimate gambling enterprises already operating on the island, "the Government has little reason to not legalise casino gambling... unless they plan to clean up existing illegal operations."
Beverly Lopez, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, told a post-retreat briefing that there was agreement to "weigh the economic benefits versus the social implications" (of casinos), and that there would be a further study of the issue. She said casinos were recognised at the retreat as an important aspect of tourism and one which promised growth. Sharing the sentiments of his colleagues, Canon Gordon suggested, "We are looking at an easy route out."
In 1997, prior to the general election, Prime Minister Patterson rejected the publicly expressed support of casinos by Francis Tulloch, then a junior Minister of Tourism. Mr. Patterson made it clear then that his Government had no intention of even considering the issue.
