Charles Jason Gordon
Charles Jason Gordon (born 17 March 1959) is a Trinidadian Roman Catholic prelate and the current Archbishop of Port of Spain since his appointment in 2017.[1] He had served prior to this as a parish priest for Gonzales before serving as the bishop for both Bridgetown and Kingston. Gordon is known for his opposition to death sentences and favours peacemaking and bridge building in local disputes and gang violence.[2][3]
Charles Jason Gordon | |
|---|---|
| Archbishop of Port of Spain | |
| Church | Roman Catholic Church |
| Archdiocese | Port of Spain |
| See | Port of Spain |
| Appointed | 19 October 2017 |
| Predecessor | Joseph Everard Harris, CSSp |
| Other posts | |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 19 March 1991 |
| Consecration | 21 September 2011 by Joseph Everard Harris, CSSp |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Charles Jason Gordon |
| Born | 17 March 1959 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Previous post |
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| Motto | Totus Tuus |
| Coat of arms | .svg.png) |
| Styles of Charles Jason Gordon | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Archbishop |
Life
Charles Jason Gordon was born in Trinidad and Tobago on 17 March 1959.
Gordon managed his father's failing business after his father died and managed to make it profitable all the while becoming involved in parish initiatives that led him to decide to enter the religious life.[1] He had shown his engagement in projects teaching skills to displaced people with an emphasis on adolescents. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. In the late 1980s (after selling the business in 1991) and into the 1990s he studied at Mount Saint Benedict and later at the Louvain college in Belgium where he got his bachelor's and master's in theological studies before completing his doctorate in London.[1] He later became involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and was an active participant in their work.
In 2003 he was made the parish priest for Gonzales. He received some awards for his project to bring peace in the eastern part of Port of Spain through the participation of all the stakeholders (including the gangs and their leaders). He mediated between communities in conflict and improved the standing of the Church while saving lives at the same time which earned him praise from Cardinal Peter Turkson.[2][4] He celebrated a television Mass once a week and this reached out to as much as 50 000 people per week. Pope Benedict XVI named him as a Monsignor in 2009.[1]
In 2011 he was appointed as the Bishop of Kingstown in Saint Vincent and Grenadines and as the Bishop of Bridgetown in Barbados. He received his episcopal consecration from Joseph Everard Harris with Robert Rivas and Malcolm Patrick Galt serving as the co-consecrators on 21 September 2011 which came two months following his appointment. His consecration was celebrated in a tent in front of the Bridgetown Cathedral. Pope Francis later accepted his resignation from Kingstown in 2015 but continued to serve in Bridgetown until the pope appointed him as the Archbishop of Port of Spain in his homeland on 19 October 2017. He will be enthroned in his new archdiocese on 27 December 2017.
In March 2016 he was charged with the physical (not sexual[5]) assault of the altar server Junior Blackman (b. 1974) and the case was brought to the Magistrates' Court that December. Gordon appeared in court and was granted bail after asserting he was innocent of the charges. The Magistrate Kristie Cuffie-Sargeant dismissed the case on 14 July 2017 since Blackman was no longer interested in pursuing the case.[2]
On an annual basis he embarks on a week-long retreat for silence and solitude.[2]
Positions
Capital punishment
Gordon is against death sentences and considers it to be nothing more than "state-sponsored murder".[2] The bishop elaborated that "it's still murder" regardless of who perpetrates it and that "its escalating the violence" rather than focusing on stopping it. He also continued that "all people have human dignity ... that dignity does not go away when we do something really bad".[3]
References
- "Port of Spain has a new Archbishop". Daily Express. 19 October 2017. Archived from the original on 27 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- "From Gonzales to Archbishop's house". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- "No to Hanging". Barbados Advocate. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 27 October 2017.
- Rhondor Dowlat (6 November 2006). "Pride in Gonzales is a team effort of Father Gordon and others who joined forces after gang-related killings in Gonzales caused alarm and fear among residents". Trinidad & Tobago Newsday.
- https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2017/11/19/charismatic-bishop-wields-gospel-caribbean-lethal-cocktail-crime-corruption/
External links
- Catholic Hierarchy [self-published]