Paul Clarke, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Pastor Althea McFarlane, a prominent member of the St Elizabeth Ministers Fraternal, says moral decadence is tearing away the decency and innocence for which the parish was known and warns of a social upheaval, with serious financial consequence, if Jamaica's increasingly vocal gay lobby is not stopped.

"As a nation, we are sliding down a slippery slope in relation to morality, and here in St Elizabeth, it's not much different," said McFarlane, at a recent Gleaner State of the Capital Editors' Forum in Black River.

"Homosexuality is not yet a major issue in this parish, but I would term it a growing problem, and I am warning that unless something is done to stop its rapid march, the society and the Government will feel it."

She continued: "God in his righteousness, from the beginning, created a man and from the man a woman, who was made to fulfil the man's needs. Nowhere is there anything giving the OK for a man to be with another of his kind nor a woman with a woman," said McFarlane.

CASH-STRAPPED JA

"Millions of dollars will have to be found to provide health care for this group in an already cash-strapped Jamaican economy," McFarlane said. "The church must lead the fight against the homosexual practises or face a damning future."

While noting that homosexuality is a social issue that must be addressed by the State, McFarlane said it was also a spiritual issue, which the church is obligated to deal with.

"As a church, we believe it is a moral issue that has to be dealt with in the socialisation of our children," said McFarlane. "But while we look on with spiritual eyes, there is a reality out there that is real. These people even attend church and are baptised, not because they seek to serve the Lord, but they do this to deflect the curious glare from people who may suspect them. "There is no hiding from God; therefore, the church cannot in all honesty accept it as the norm," continued McFarlane. "We must stand united against it and any other morally nefarious act, be it rape, robbery, murder or white-collar crimes."

