A Catholic Priest’s remarks at the recent funeral for the late cultural icon, Rameau Poleon, have ignited a social media controversy.
At the centre of the controversy is the outspoken priest, Albert Smith.
On Friday September 6, family and friends of the late Joseph Rameau Poleon gathered at the St. Isidore Roman Catholic Church, Belle Vue, to pay their last respects.
The cultural icon passed away in July at the age of 95.
During the funeral service, Rameau’s son, Patrick Joseph, more popularly known as Emrow, paid a musical tribute to his late father.
The songs, which he later said were also meant to inspire mourners, were “Have Faith in God” and “If Your Name is Written.”
Emrow also played the guitar, ending with a riff, resulting in resounding applause from mourners.
Hardly had the cheering subsided before Fr. Albert took the microphone to announce; “In the catholic church we don’t clap.”
The remark drew the ire of some in the congregation, who murmured loudly.
The priest continued: “And the liturgy, the Eucharist is our highest form of prayer. That choice of song totally unacceptable.Totally unacceptable. If we do things, we do it right.”
“And there is too much noise please,” he added.
The “open rebuke” drew much condemnation on social media.
According to one commentator, if anything was inappropriate, it was Fr. Albert’s criticism of the son of the late Rameau Poleon in front of the congregation.
“I am a catholic and since when we do not clap in church, this is ridiculous,” wrote another.
St. Lucia Times has since spoken with Emrow about the issue.
“What can I say? Maybe the man had a few drinks before he came to the church,” he joked.
“Because you cannot tell me, you are a servant of God, I am singing songs and using my music to spread the word of God and you have a problem with that,” he said.
Emrow said he is a Christian who gave his life to Christ in 1981. He wrote the songs performed at the funeral, which speak to believing in God and glorifying him.
Taught by his uncle Roy, Emrow recalled that he started in music in the group Groovy Brothers from Belle Vue.
He later moved to Martinique, where he formed a Compas band with musicians from Haiti.
“Back in the days, we used to have some good times together playing in Rameau Poleon’s rum shop,” he fondly recounted.
Today, he says he performs Christian music regularly in New York, where he now lives.
“I perform at sometimes four to five churches every Sunday,” he disclosed.
“However when you are doing the work of God there will be opposition and I believe that what happened at my dad’s funeral was just one of those challenges,” Emrow stated.
” God has given me this ministry of music and I will continue to use it for as long as I live. I hold no animosity towards anyone who may be opposed to what I do. All I can do is pray for them and keep on singing,” he declared.
Photo: Albert Smith (File image)
