by CAROL-ANN TUDOR

MORALITY CHANGES with time and place, but the church must continue to stand steadfast and enshrined in the Bible.

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and Diocesan Chancellor of the Anglican Church in Barbados, Charles Leacock, made this clear as he addressed the gathering for the Layman's League of the Moravian Church's annual conference on Sunday.

Leacock, speaking on The Role Of The Church In Society at the Moravian Church in Maxwell, Christ Chruch, said the church's primary mission was to look after the hereafter and provide us with the values and teachings of life.

He said that even in some of the main churches, morality had changed substantially and some things once considered to be "so clear" had become blurred.

Leacock charged that with respect to human sexuality, certain things that were not in accordance with the Bible were now considered by some faiths to be respectable.

"The Bible does not change. What has changed is the way some people interpret the Bible.

"The church must continue to stand up for what it knows to be the moral order of the Bible.

"The church must recognise right from wrong and interface with society to address the scourges of the likes of substance abuse, sexual abuse and paedophilia.

"It must also articulate the moral order and not be sidetracked by the changes in society," he stated.

The DPP said it was the duty of the church to stand up and be counted, to be able to call a spade a spade and to stand up for those who could not stand up for themselves, and to be able to call certain practices unsavoury.

"That is our mandate for Christ," he stated.

Addressing crime, Leacock said that in his role as DPP, he saw lots of people who ended up in Her Majesty's Prisons.

He said the reality was, in a society of 300 000 people where more than 1 000 were in jail and the incarceration rate was so high, the church must also think of coming up with holistic strategies to seek to help youth who were at risk.

"The fact that over 900 males are currently in Her Majesty's Prisons Dodds should provoke some response to address the level of criminality in society," he stated.

Leacock added that it was the state's duty to recognise people's rights and respect and enforce the laws.