VETERAN journalist Byron Buckley has been elected the new head of the Association of Christian Communicators and Media (ACCM).

Buckley, a former president of the Press Association of Jamaica, was elected unopposed at the annual general meeting (AGM) of the ACCM on Sunday.

He will lead an executive team which includes Bishop Basil Hanson, first vice-president; Jenni Campbell, second vice-president; and Anna-Alecia Lawrence, secretary. The executive committee will be completed with the co-opting of a treasurer and several floor members.

In his acceptance remarks, Buckley vowed to continue the mandate and mission of the ACCM, “which is the promotion and propagation of righteousness and morality founded on biblical principles”.

According to Buckley, the ACCM will achieve through independent initiatives as well as through partnerships with churches or para-church organisations.

“I am honoured to have been elected as president by delegates. I acknowledge the leadership and contribution to the establishment of the ACCM by outgoing President Jenni Campbell and other members of the previous executive,” said Buckley.

“I wish to commend present and prospective members of the ACCM for offering your expertise, skills, and commitment to this cause. You have a unique and prophetic role to play in shining the light of morality and righteousness in such a time as this when the Judeo-Christian structure of family and society is under attack,” he added.

Buckley encouraged ACCM members to use their God-given skills and platforms to counter messages and practices that undermine healthy social and spiritual values.

He further noted his belief that, in many instances, policymakers would welcome alternative proposals and constructive pushback against certain policies being promoted in Jamaica; that is, “foreign” both geographically and culturally.

“The push to have Obeah recognised as a religion is coming from inside Jamaica. The insistence on promoting same-sex relations and gender fluidity as normative in our schools is being pushed by outsiders in collusion with weak-kneed school administrators.

“The abortion of an unborn child for trite reasons is wrong. In this regard, ACCM commends the anti-abortion advocacy being done by the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) as well as the Love March Movement along with Friends for Life Women’s Support Group,” added Buckley.

He said the ACCM condemns the harassment of representatives of Love March Movement who have been demonstrating peacefully at an abortion clinic.

“The right to freedom of expression is enshrined in the Jamaican Constitution, and so Love March Movement is entitled to that right, like any other group,” argued Buckley.

He gave a commitment to inclusive and participatory leadership and encouraged Christian communicators to join the ACCM and offer their services to the organisation’s subcommittees which include membership, education, family, security, and justice.

Meanwhile, former President Campbell told the AGM that last year the group wrote to Minister of Education Senator Dana Morris Dixon raising several concerns related to the moral, spiritual, and physical protection of Jamaica’s children, but so far there has been no formal response.

According to Campbell, the group’s concerns include subtle efforts to diminish the role of the Christian church in education, which is negatively impacting the learning experience and making room for influences from criminals and gangs in the hallowed halls of learning.

She said ACCM also expressed concerns about proposals to curtail devotions in schools.

Campbell said ACCM also shared concerns about the implementation of aspects of the Samoa Agreement which the Government signed in November 2024.

The former president charged that the agreement demands that comprehensive reproductive health programmes and its offshoot (comprehensive sex education) are taught in our schools.

“These programmes include issues of gender fluidity and abortion rights, which are illegal under the Jamaican Constitution and, so, our children should not be taught that these illegal choices are ready options,” said Campbell.

She welcomed the announcement by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness that he will be focusing on strengthening the Jamaican family unit through a “concentrated and coordinated” approach, with work already underway in the Ministry of National Security and Peace to target the family ecosystem.

BUCKLEY…the Judeo-Christian structure of family and society in Jamaica is under attack