THE (Anglican) Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) yesterday expressed shock and deep sadness at the demise of Father Richard Johnson, who was stabbed to death at the St Jude’s rectory in Stony Hill on Sunday night.

In a statement released by the Bishop of Jamaica, the Rt Rev Dr Alfred Reid, the Anglican church expressed heartfelt sympathy to the priest’s family and to the members of his congregation, while thanking God for Johnson’s “faithful, compassionate and effective ministry… on behalf of the Diocese which he served for over 15 years”.

Calling the priest’s death a “terrible tragedy”, the bishop declared: “Murder is the worst possible crime because it is irreversible, but more so, it represents a presumptuous defiance of God, the Giver of life and attempts to reverse the life-giving activity of the Creator.”

Bishop Reid, quoting from a sermon he delivered at the 136th Synod of the Church in April of this year, reiterated that violence was not new to Jamaica, citing the extermination of the Arawaks, the horrors of the Middle Passage and the deadly effects of slavery and the colonial period.

He suggested that perhaps the island was “beneath a curse which negates any merit we may have been awarded”.

“Jamaica is undoubtedly a blessed land and we are a blessed people. Why then have we failed to actualise our full potential? Could there be a countervailing curse on the land that nullifies our blessing?” he had asked the Synod.

The mood was equally sombre at the Jamaica Council of Churches where the slain rector was described as “warm and jovial”.

General-Secretary of the umbrella association of church organisations in Jamaica, Rev Gary Harriott, recalled moments spent with Father Johnson, who was his classmate at theological college.

“I was deeply saddened when I heard of his passing this morning. We were batchmates at the United Theological College of the West Indies and although we were from different religious backgrounds, we had a warm relationship,” he said.

“We belong to an ecumenical society and it says to us that crime and violence is no respector of persons, that we are all vulnerable. It is a reminder to the church and the society that we need to do all we can to curb crime and violence.”

Rev Harriott extended condolences to the widow and congregation of the slain priest, saying he was a “very spirited individual”.

The Catholic community was no less touched by the incident and Monsignor Richard Albert denounced the death of his colleague, calling it a “terrible act”.