A leading Catholic member in the St George’s area has voiced strong opposition to the Trinidad-born Clyde Harvey getting an extension to remain as Bishop of St George after he reaches the mandatory age of retirement of 75 in November.
The faithful told THE NEW TODAY that Harvey has not made any impact on the church since coming as head in 2017 but the church has instead been taking a downward slide under his leadership.
“I have asked the question many times – what did he bring to the table to the people? That man has made no impact at all since he is Bishop here,” she said.
According to the regular churchgoer, the Catholic Church in Grenada has seen the membership “dwindling” over the years under the clergyman.
“All he is talking about is the amount of money that the church needs but what really is he doing. I heard that a lot of people who used to rally around him are sort of distancing themselves from him now.
“He did not prove himself as a Bishop. The church has been deteriorating. The truth is that people have lost a lot of respect for him. Members of the church who really saw him as a Bishop see him as nothing now”.
The female church member made mention of a gathering of only 30 persons that Harvey attracted three weeks ago at a mass in Grenville R.C Church in St Andrew.
“In the past, once people hear that the Bishop is doing a mass somewhere, people looked forward to hearing the mass of a Bishop but I have not seen that in Grenada in recent times”.
The Catholic faithful recalled that another Trinidadian the late Sydney Charles who served for many years as Bishop in Grenada and died in 2018 is still revered by many Catholics as they used to look up to him as head of the Diocese.
She said that several Catholics still call Charles to this day “their Bishop.”
“I don’t think that the Bishop (Harvey) realises what he is doing to the people of Grenada – it’s just been sad,” she remarked.
Harvey has reportedly told members of the clergy at one of their sessions that he would only seek an extension of time in office from Rome if there is support among them on the issue.
THE NEW TODAY understands that there is not widespread support among priests for Harvey to remain in charge of the church in Grenada.