HEAD of the Roman Catholic Church in Jamaica Archbishop Kenneth Richards says Jamaicans should introspect when there are tragedies instead of pointing fingers, charging that the country is reaping the deadly consequence of abandoning the age-old principle of the village raising the child.

“It is easy to point our fingers at those people who carry the harm that they do to children to a tragic end whether by sexual abuse, physically harming them, taking their life. But we need to examine ourselves, how am I treating children that are within my context. Do I love as a parent?” Richards demanded of those attending Wednesday’s thanksgiving service for business titan Lascelles Chin at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kingston.

“As a sibling, am I respectful of the rights of my brother and sister? As a student, do I show due regard for my fellow student? In my community, what is the awareness I have for children? We used to say of Jamaica that it was the practice that it was the village that raised children. Nowadays, it’s everybody to their own corner; ‘leff mi pickney alone, do not talk to mi pickney’,” the archbishop said.

“Teacher get beat up and cuss because they try to discipline children, and so we have broken down that principle that was so wholesome for family life and community life and so we are doing harm and damage. I think there needs to be solidarity among all parents to take care of children in the community that each elder has a care and a concern for every child,” he said further.

Noting that a fear of ‘standing for principle and what is right’ has contributed to the tragedies being seen, the archbishop said ‘concern’ should birth action and not apathy.

“Recently I was in a gas station and I saw two children in their uniforms sitting in a compromising position and I said ‘what is this?’ and started to advance towards them and then they came to their senses and stepped apart and became more respectful,” Richards continued.

“We must not only point our fingers at such tragedy but we must also examine how in my own sphere, my own home, what is the relationship I have with my children,” he said while encouraging parents to make time for their children and the children of others.

The archbishop’s sentiments were similar to those voiced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness on Thursday during a handing-over ceremony for the $200-million therapeutic treatment centre for children in State care with mental conditions on the grounds of the Maxfield Park Children’s Home in St Andrew.

Speaking at that function, the prime minister said: “In our homes, schools and communities, our Jamaican children are confronted by higher levels of violence and lack of the necessary engagement and guidance required for their optimal development.”

“Many of our children rely on being aggressive as a means of coping and surviving and indeed many of us would be guilty of encouraging our children to be aggressive in order to survive in social environments and that is a challenge because we have to ask ourselves, when will we as a country need to rely less on violence to navigate our social space,” he said.

He said the impact of negative socialisation is not recognised until it is expressed as violence which results in loss of lives.

“Yes, we have too many dysfunctional households on our island but the major contributor to the problem is our general culture of silence, permissiveness and acceptance. Each of us must become a child protector, when we see our children being abused either physically or emotionally, we must either intervene by sharing an alternative approach or report it,” he said.

“Childcare and the protection of our children is the business of all of us in Jamaica and we all need to step up to the plate and be counted. Child protection starts in our communities, the Government has a responsibility but our communities and the people living within the communities are the first line of defence in the protection of our children,” Holness said.