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Last updated:
01 March, 2010 - Published 15:16 GMT

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Rasta church

Rastafarian church has been seeking recognition
for 14 years

A Rastafarian church in Jamaica is continuing
its 14-year fight for legal recognition by the country's lawmakers.

The Church of Haile Selassie I the first submitted
its petition for incorporation in October 1996.

But despite pleas by the church and its legal
representatives, the organisation is yet to receive parliamentary
approval.

At issue is the Church of Haile
Selassie I's use of certain herbs in its religious sacraments, which it
says has been misinterpreted by some as promoting the use
of marijuana during worship.

Misconceptions

The Church's spokesman Abuna Foxe told BBC Caribbean
that misconceptions about the use of herbs during workship have
contributed to the delay in being granted legal status.

"For the average Jamaican a chalice is a ganja pipe,
that's wrong. A chalice is a sensor that's used to burn frankincense
and myrrh," Mr Foxe said.

He also said that at no time will his organisation
ask parliament to legalise the use of 'herbs'.

The Church of Halie Selassie met with lawmakers last
December where it stressed the use of the herb cassias, but not marijuana,
in it's rituals.

Review

Their request has been reviewed by the parliament's
joint select committee.

The Committee Chairman Senator Hyacinth Bennett told
members there was a need to clarify the concept of the word 'herb'.

But Opposition Senator Mark Golding told BBC
Caribbean the church had made it clear it did not use marijuana and too
much emphasis was being put on the legislation that aimed
to define the organisation's sacrament.

"The concern of some of the members of the committee
is that they don't want, by passing the bill, to appear to be condoning
the use of ganja," Mr Golding said.

"Every time the committee sits, the issue of whether
they use herb or not, and what herb means in their liturgy has come up.

"But I think that after (the) sitting the members
present were minded to accept that there's really no basis for the
committee to use that as a basis for denying the church
the desired recommendation that their petition be allowed."

If approved the Church of Haile Selassie I would have
the legal rights to property ownership, open schools as well as tax
benefits.

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