With Carnival over, Archbishop Gabriel Malzaire is asking Saint Lucians to think about how the festival has changed.
In a message posted on the Archdiocese of Castries’ Facebook page, Archbishop Malzaire acknowledged how important Carnival is to Saint Lucia and the Caribbean. However, he also shared his concerns about some of the behaviours and attitudes linked to the celebrations.
The archbishop said Carnival has changed a lot from its original purpose as a celebration before Lent. Now, he explained, the festival is closely tied to tourism and entertainment, with events happening in communities year-round.
He wondered whether more celebrations are leading to a culture where partying never stops. Still, Malzaire made it clear he is not asking for Carnival to be abandoned.
He praised the beauty and creativity of Carnival, including its music, costumes, art, craftsmanship, and pageantry. He said these parts of Carnival should be kept because they build national pride and bring people together.
He is mainly worried about some of the more troubling parts of street revelry.
He said some Carnival costumes, especially those worn by women, are becoming more revealing. He said the discussion should go beyond clothing and also look at how people are treated because of what they wear.
The archbishop mentioned disrespectful comments from spectators and people on social media. He said the bigger issue concerns dignity, respect and the messages children are receiving.
“Our concern must go deeper than clothing,” he said, emphasising the importance of people recognising their own dignity and expecting that dignity to be respected by others.
Malzaire also encouraged Saint Lucians to consider whether Carnival is reflecting the kind of society they want for the future. He said personal freedom should not mean being free from responsibility, restraint or respect for others.
He also had concerns that went beyond Carnival itself.
The archbishop linked the rise of party culture to other changes he sees in society. He gave examples like reckless driving, drivers not dimming their headlights, and people being less considerate, which he believes show a wider decline in courtesy, integrity and responsibility.
However, his message was not meant to condemn anyone.
Malzaire explained that he spoke out because he truly cares about where society is heading and the values being taught to the next generation.
He encouraged Saint Lucians to keep celebrating the parts of Carnival that bring joy, creativity and unity, but also to confront the aspects that might harm human dignity.
The arch bishop should stick to his office of things spiritual….however non existent the evidence is for the man in the sky. While he does have a right to his opinion, it is not his place to dictate what carnival should be or how revellers decide to celebrate it. There is nothing immoral about scarcely clad women or revellers during carnival. It is for people to respect others regardless of how scantily clad they are. The problem with society is that men are not taught from childhood how to respect women and vice versa. Putting clothes on during carnival is not a sign of morality…. morality is people both men and women respecting each other no matter how much flesh is on display. The church want you to feel shame for your own body yet, the church had failed to protect the very children that were in its care. No one has been sent to prison or held accountable for the decades long hurt caused to children by the long list of men in frocks globally. Fix your house first sir and leave us enjoy carnival as we please. In fact, in ages past such a celebration as carnival would have been deemed irreverent, immoral, decadent by the church, but the church has nicely fit itself into the flower festivals and certain aspects of the carnival to seek relevance. The church should stay out of our carnival as it’s a celebration of our freedom that was with held from our ancestors from over 400 years. The same church that also encouraged and legislated the enslavement of our ancestors. Yes, the church was involved in the enslavement of our ancestors from the get go…..Saint Lucians should know their history and stop these so called spiritual leaders telling us how to live our lives and celebrate our ancestors.
Carnival isn’t the only vulgarity Sir. Imagine sitting in your home and someone who was denied love as a child is blasting some obscene music into your living room. Or some scantily clad woman walking the street laying everything bear. Not sure why we focus on 2 days when this sort of thing happens daily. While it is good the church is speaking up they need to speak up about everything. The church has a duty as a moral anchor whether or not you believe in what they peddle. But then again, with scandal after scandal plaguing churches perhaps they no longer can be.
Highly pertinent comments by the Archbishop! To this I will add that many women are complicit in the denigration of their own gender by the way they behave on Carnival days, by the “music” they embrace, especially the so called ‘Dennery Segment”, with its sexually explicit lyrics about the female backside and genitalia, translate that to kweyol. In Saint Lucia, there seems to be an unhealthy fascination bordering on paranoia when it comes to the female bottom!
This country is allegedly Christian. Unfortunately, morality does not exist here. As if someone is running an experiment to determine how long would it take for a society to collapse if laws aren’t upheld and morality is ignored
The message is valid. We as a people need to review and validate our actions. Our actions guide and determine our ultimate goals and aspirations. While this festival has grown (and will likely continue to grow in the foreseeable future), there must be context as to what will ultimately be achieved and at what consequence. I too believe that festivals and festivities are important, they should not be protracted. Everyone needs time for reflection and productive activities which are the basis for our growth and development. Protracted festivals and festivities distract from this. Also the message as it pertains to what is being communicated from our festivals and to whom, can have social and moral consequences. We as adults have a responsibility to set principles and standards that will positively influence our younger folk and our foreign friends and patrons. Is what we are communicating now really what we want to communicate?