Three religious leaders have voiced opposition to the Privy Council’s decision decriminalising consensual same-sex relations between adults in Trinidad and Tobago, according to a newly published Trinidad Express report.
Inter-Religious Organisation president Dr Ellis Burris, Palo Seco Imam Lorris Ballack and Spiritual Shouter Baptists Archbishop Barbara Burke separately told the newspaper that they disagreed with the ruling. Their responses centred on religious beliefs, with Burris also urging respectful and humane treatment of people despite that opposition.
Burris told the Express that his position reflected a belief that secular laws should align with divine principles. He described the religious communities associated with the IRO as sharing that spiritual orientation and said he could not support the court’s decision on that basis. His statements about agreement among religions were his characterisation, rather than separate responses from each community named in the report.
Discussing how religious followers should respond, Burris called for patience and prayer. He said people make their own choices and cautioned against disrespectful or inhumane conduct towards members of the LGBT+ community.
Ballack also rejected the ruling in a telephone interview with the newspaper. He distinguished between people conducting private relationships and the State giving those relationships legal recognition. He raised marriage certificates and adoption as concerns, although the decision described in the report concerns the criminalisation of consensual adult intimacy. The excerpt does not establish any change to marriage or adoption law.
Ballack urged Trinidad and Tobago citizens to speak publicly against the decision. His objections were expressed as religious and personal views about same-sex relationships.
Burke likewise said she could not agree with the ruling, invoking religious teachings in explaining her position. She questioned its acceptance in a country with multiple religious communities and called for prayer. She also identified murder as a more pressing national concern.
The interviews document opposition from the three leaders to the decriminalisation decision. Alongside those objections, Burris’s appeal for humane treatment sets out how he believes religious disagreement should be expressed towards the people affected.