The Church in Jamaica has fallen short in its efforts to effectively influence the nation and its leaders in pursuing justice, political maturity and the upliftment of the poor.

That was the consensus of religious leaders coming out of a Gleaner Editors' Forum held at the newspaper's North Street, central Kingston, offices yesterday.

Leading the charge in decrying the failure of the Church to guide the nation in moral matters was Ian Boyne, a minister in the local branch of the Church of God International and host of Television Jamaica's 'Religious Hard Talk'.

He was adamant that "the Church, in terms of attempting to influence the public square, is a dismal failure in Jamaica."

Influence declined

Mr. Boyne maintained that the Church's influence and activism have declined dramatically over the last century.

"The Church as an institution has not organised itself to impact public opinion," he argued. "If you look at the role of the Church historically - the pre-Emancipation period, the immediate post-Emancipation period, coming right up to the 1970s - it was a Church that was very active in public affairs and very active in making its voice heard on political issues."

He added: "Since the 1980s there has been a retreat of the Church and now, in this new millennium, almost a total silence."

Bishop C.B. Peter Morgan, chairman of City Life Ministries, agreed that the Church was indeed in a crisis because many of its leaders have not been trained along the lines of politics and governance and are therefore unable to direct or influence the public on these issues.

"We do not get leaders of the Church who understand the dynamics of social, political or judicial issues, and that is part of the weakness of the Church," he said.

Bishop Morgan said the Church has not done enough in making a rational input in the understanding of governance in the nation, in dealing with economic issues and in influencing a decline in the injustices in the nation.

Rev. Dr. Roderick Hewitt, immediate past moderator of the United Church of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, said the moral and ethical standard of many individuals in political leadership in Jamaica was of an inferior level. He also conceded that the Church has historically fallen short in correcting the nation's leaders when they have erred.