Churches Told to “Shut Up”

Michael Peyrefitte

Perhaps the AG’s most fiery response was reserved for the Council of Churches.  When asked to give his two cents on their objection to the passage of the law, he minced no words.  Peyrefitte said bluntly that the church has no moral authority to take aim at weed smokers when it does not oppose the sale and consumption of cigarette and alcohol.  He says that if they want to legislate then they should become lawyers and if they want to change laws then they should offer themselves for office.  Until then, he says, they should simply shut up.

Isani Cayetano

“Do believe that the church is late in coming out against this particular motion, considering the fact that I believe there was a consultation process which led us to where we are at present?”

Michael Peyrefitte, Attorney General

“Isani, let me be very calm.  I’ll try to be very calm about the church the way I tried to be very hard to be calm about the CCJ.  Given what the church has been found guilty of in recent years, I think priests and pastors have no moral authority to try and judge anybody out here who wants to smoke marijuana.  The churches don‘t rail against cigarettes, they don‘t rail against alcohol and there‘s nothing to prove that marijuana is any more dangerous than those two perfectly legal drugs.  My question for the church would be what is their true motivation behind this.  They coming out late, I just think that when you look at the pastors and the different people who want to object, they just want to object for object sake.  They just object for object sake.”

Reporter

“But they suggest in their press conference a few days ago that the government ignored their packet wherein two hundred plus pastors voiced their discontent.  Is that true?”

Michael Peyrefitte

“Daniel, let me stop you.  Let me stop you.  They are pastors in their churches.  They need to go preach in their churches.  If you want to make legislation, pastors, you put you put your name on a ballot, you run for office.  If your party wins and you get into cabinet, or you‘re the prime minister or the majority in the house, then you can pass whatever law you want to pass.  You are a pastor, be a pastor.  You want to be a lawmaker, then you come and you be a lawmaker, you offer yourself to the people.  Of course we listened to what they said, we listened to what everybody had to say.  But at the end of the day, as the lawmakers, the members of the house, the members of the senate had to then come up with what was best for everybody.  We are not dictated by what the church wants.  We are not dictated by what the BNTU wants or what the Mayas want or the Garinagu or the Creole or the Mestizo, we are dictated by what‘s in the best interest of everybody.  And for those who want to yell and talk from the cheap seats, come down, put your name on a ballot, run for office and then you can pass the laws you want or repeal the laws that we just passed.  Until then just shut up.”