Up Front
Dee Dee Haines Freed
Rev. Dee Dee Haines
The contempt of court charge brought againstthe Rev'd Dee Dee Haines for her refusal to answer questions ina Grand Court murder trial was purged on Friday, 11th January,after the accused, Kurt F. Ebanks, freed her of pastoral obligations,thereby allowing her to offer evidence to presiding Judge Hendersonin a closed session in Grand Cayman.
The Rev'd Haines, pastor of the John Graymemorial Church, sat in a holding cell until four o'clock on Thursdayafternoon when she received word from Kurt Ebanks, that she wasable to offer evidence to the court, narrowly thereby escapinga custodial sentence herself. Ebanks and another man, Brian R.Powell are on trial for the murder of taxi driver, Curtis Seymour;both have denied the offence.
On Friday afternoon, members of the United Church of Jamaica andthe Cayman Island (UCJCI), along with members from the CaymanMinsters Association held a press conference at the Elmslie MemorialChurch to explain why the Rev'd Haines had taken her stance andto declare that the church was "solidly behind her"on the issues of confidentially in relation to the pastoral ministry.
Rev'd Collin Cowan, Deputy Chairman of the Cayman Council of theUCJCI said, "We have much sympathy for the courts in particularlythe Solicitor General, Sam Bulgin and the Hon. Judge Henderson,for they were trapped in a very difficult situation as well. Thereis not basis in law to grant privilege of confidentiality to clergy;we therefore understand how difficult and how challenging thesituation has been for them.
"We believe that the practice of confidentiality or the principleof confidentially is important to us because of the respect forthe dignity of those who bare their souls to us is of paramountimportance and anything that would betray that sacred trust, anythingwould stand in the way of them maintaining their dignity in Christwould be an assault on their dignity, to which the Church is instrong opposition," Rev'd Cowan further stated.
"We therefore believe that Rev'd Haines has acted in concertwith her ordination vows and with the ethical principles thatgovern the function of pastoral practice within the context ofthe United Church," he added.
Speaking at the press conference, Rev'd Haines explained her action."I took a ordination vow and a promise to God and each personI counsel to maintain their confidentiality. Information sharedremains in absolute confidence."
She also went on to explain what spending a day in custody waslike, "No one can ever speak about where someone has journeyeduntil they have been in that space," explained Rev'd Haines.
Pastor Al Ebanks of the Agape Church and Chairman of the CaymanMinister's Association (CMA) assured the public that the sacredtrust that has been placed in the Church in regards to matterof confidentially has been maintained.
The Rev. Cowan expressed concern that no laws exist to protectthe clergy and maybe why there had not been any precedent untilrecently regarding matters of privilege.
"Though there is no precedence until recently we believethat the reason, even though there was no basis in law, to datethat is due to the place that the church has in the community.We are concerned should we erode that, that the very moral fabricfor which society stands will be shaken, if not destroyed,"Rev'd Cowan said.
To further complicate matters, Chief Justice Anthony Smellie issueda press statement regarding a press release that the CMA had publishedon Thursday, stating its full support for the Rev'd Haines.
"The judiciary is concerned that the terms of the press releasemay well turn out to be a Contempt of Court in that it may beseen as active encouragement of the Rev. Dee Dee Haines to refuseto comply with an order of the Court."
In response to the Chief Justice's statement, Pastor Ebanks said:"We are extremely concerned and we are seeking further clarificationon this matter to see if there is any appropriated action to taken.
"We stand very firmly behind any statement that we have made,"he added.
When contacted for a comment on the matter, the Caymanian BarAssociation member, Mr. Olivaire Walter told Cayman Net News thathe would have to confer with council members before making anystatement.