Two weeks ago, Archbishop Anthony Pantin celebrated his episcopal ordination. A week later he was contemplating vacating office. In a circular to the priests of the Archdiocese, he informed them of his pending resignation.
By the year 2000, Archbishop Pantin says, he plans to hand his resignation to the Holy Father Pope John Paul.
After 30 years of service, Pantin, who turns 69 on August 27, says although he is in good health (one of the main considerations to serve as a Diocesan Bishop), he feels "there is need for change."
According to the Church's Canon Law, Canon 401-1, "A Diocesan Bishop who has completed his 75 years of age is requested to present his resignation from office to the Supreme Pontiff who will make provisions after he has examined all the circumstances."
Should the Pope accept his resignation, Archbishop Pantin hopes to spend his time serving one of the Church's small parishes or doing extensive community work with students and the wider congregation.
"Perhaps in Tobago, the parish of Delaford," he says. "Movement will be easy and pleasant for a man at this age." Tobago has its appeal, he says bemused. Even though he may not find time to lull on its beaches, getting his feet wet every so often will be a welcome change to the hectic schedule he has kept for the duration of his tenure as Archbishop of the local Catholic Church.
Even as he speaks of the 'retirement years' with longing, Archbishop Pantin ever so jovially says his future depends on what the two most powerful men in his life demand of him at that time.
"What becomes of me by the year 2000 will be the decision of the Holy Father Pope John Paul; he will decide whether I stay on as Archbishop or if I am to serve under a newly appointed Archbishop. That Bishop will decide where and how I continue to serve."
The upshot of his early retirement, though, is the possibility of the Pope deciding to have Archbishop Pantin serve until the year 2004 when he turns 75. "That decision," says Archbishop Pantin, "is out of my hands."
"There are several other bishops, such as Cardinal O'Connor of New York whom his Holiness has asked to hold office although he is already 78."
While the prospects of him remaining in office are real (he declines to suggest his successor), Archbishop Pantin says, "Luckily for me, I have always remained detached (thank God) from the position of Archbishop so that if ever I received instructions that I was being replaced, it would be no big thing."
He jokes that there are means by which bishops can influence the Pope's decision. "If a Bishop does not really want to retire he can write his resignation…and dance around the room for the Pope to see how young he is at 75."
But Archbishop Pantin seems more inclined to dance at his Jubilee Year, come 2000, when his resignation will be taken to the Vatican.
A Holy Ghost Father, Archbishop Pantin was ordained on March 19, 1968, when he was chosen to take on the mantle as head of the local Church. He is the first local priest to hold the position. Both his predecessors, Archbishop Finbar Ryan and Archbishop John Pius Dowlin, were Irish. Ryan died while on retirement in Ireland seven years after leaving TT, while Dowlin died sitting in his chair on the second floor of Archbishop's House around the Queen's Park Savannah.
The Archbishop's role is hectic, he muses, but staying in touch with reality through contact with ordinary folk brings him satisfaction, joy and lots of laughter. The meetings are also the source of the countless anecdotes he draws on in giving his sermons.
Relating a litany of encounters with visitors to office, His Grace, a pleasant host, swishes about the office reaching for his intercom, and then the telephone.
At times his tone cracks with anxiety, a hint of impatience as he explains basic Catholic customs to callers. "A Baptism certificate is all you need for Confirmation…yes, yes, yes, righto, God bless!""
But his daily engagements can run into the night. When he's not officiating at Mass there are meetings with bishops and Priests, parishioners to visit. Additionally, he allots time to pen the 25-year-old column he writes for the Catholic News. Then there are replies to the constant flow of letters and requests he receives in the mail daily. Among those requests are pleas for financial assistance, the payment of electricity bills, which are met with funds from the Archbishop's Relief Fund.
But occasionally there are those letters, which require more than spiritual guidance or financial help. Take the couple from Guapo, who wrote recently requesting he find them a 5-7-year-old white child for adoption. "Black people no good, I have no luck with them, says the writer, "I want a nice white child to raise…"
There is still a great deal of work to be done in the society and the Church cannot do it all, he laments. Years ago, he recalled, frequent calls came from people asking him to recommend someone in need of a job. "These days, he says, the phone never rings for that."
The church is not as wealthy as its detractors believe, says the Archbishop. But the question on the wealth of the local Church was skillfully sidestepped. Archbishop Pantin explained that the perception of the Church being a wealthy entity was based on the number of buildings it owned.
"But," he adds, "nobody wants to buy a church." On the question of the number of parishioners who bequeath their worldly possessions to the Church, the Archbishop points to Father Garfield Rochard who, he says, is in charge of the Church's buildings and properties.
The practice to give the Church property nowadays, he says, is not as common. "But in any case, buildings members leave to the church are often used or donated to charitable arms of the church, like the St Vincent De Paul.
The Church's coffers, he reiterates, are never overflowing. In a delightful tone, he says the Church is always in the red, "since we believe in the Second Coming; by the time the bank comes down on us we would be saved." The 123 primary schools and other Catholic-run institutions, even with government's assistance, demand attention from the Church. The parishes themselves cut into the Church's collection.
The overall running of the parishes, he says, is costly but a novel idea to have wealthier parishes assist weaker ones in the "Parishare" programme sees roughly half a million dollars pass between parishes annually.
Even as he prepares for a period of growth within the local Church, Archbishop Pantin says the Archdiocese's progress is being hampered by the general hardship in the country. "It is hard to tell people about things spiritual when they don't know where their next meal is coming from."
The Church's inability to make inroads in some areas, he feels, has no bearing on the number of Catholics who leave the Church for other denominations. "We are not in competition with other churches… it is far better to have a handful of devout believers than a hall full of luke-warm believers." The Catholic Church worldwide must continue to make changes to its structure, its approach to societies and cultures. Concepts must be in keeping with reality. "Even the Continental Synod of Bishops every five years is not enough."
Locally, he adds, the move towards change has already begun, although there is still dire need for more men to embrace the priesthood. "If all the men who entered the seminary were appropriate for the priesthood, we won't have this problem though," laughed the Archbishop.
Among some of the milestone in the local Church, he says, is the setting-up of a specially appointed tribunal to deal with complaints of sexual abuse in the Church.
While he could offer no details on the tribunal (I have appointed someone to handle that), he accepts that sexual abuse is prevalent in the Church.
"I agree little attention was paid to that aspect of the Church but times have changed. We will no longer sweep that kind of issue under the rug. That trait, says the Archbishop, was overlooked because "often it was believed if a man didn't show interest in girls he practiced celibacy, not knowing he had interests of other kinds."