Father Edwin Mathiot was consecrated as a priest on the 3rd of July 1966. He has spent 55 years in the service of the Catholic Church in Seychelles, one of a small number of Seychellois priests who were able to partially replace the Swiss and French priests who followed in the wake of Père Léon des Avanchers’ first mission to Seychelles in 1851. The L’Écho des Îles reproduces an interview which “Père Mathiot” gave to Marie-Claire Elizabeth.
What pushed you to become a priest?
When I was 16, a priest asked me why I didn’t join the priesthood myself. The question troubled me for a while but then an inner voice whispered to me: Why not have a go? To start with, I ignored this idea. But after I finished my primary studies at St John Bosco’s School and later my secondary schooling at the Seychelles College, the idea of becoming a priest still persisted. So I went ahead with it. I was sent to Europe after attending the seminary here to pursue my studies on priesthood.
What role did your family play?
My family was very religious. Never to my knowledge have my parents not attended church on Sunday. In those days the first mass was celebrated at 5 o’oclock in the morning. They would leave the house very early. My siblings and I would later attend the 8 o’oclock mass. My family made sure that we attended different devotions at the cathedral. At home we would gather to recite the evening prayers. So my family’s faith and devotion also played an important role in my decision.
Why do you think it is important for families to recite prayers together?
The church encourages the family to pray together at night. This promotes a sense of family unity, and religious traditions are transmitted from parents to children. This is what family life is all about.
What are the main principles that guide the Catholic Church?
The love of God and the love of neighbours – love God with all your heart and your neighbours like you would love yourself.
How do you manifest this love?
You should show love through different ways. You cannot just sit at home and not attend church and afterwards say you love God. As St. John points out, “faith does not exist without concrete action”. It is not through beautiful words that you show you love Him. It is through your actions.
What do you expect from a believer then?
Practise observing the sacraments, from Baptism to Holy Matrimony, and including of course the Eucharist, when we receive the body and blood of Christ. A sacrament is the outer sign of an inner grace. That is the life of a Christian from the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church was the first religion to become established in Seychelles. The Anglican Church followed and now we have numerous other faiths. We are constantly seeing new denominations being established. How does the Catholic Church see this?
The Catholic Church does not recruit believers. It has even gone down from about 90 percent of the population following its teachings to about 60 percent. It has been there since the existence of Christianity in Seychelles and it will always exist. The Catholic Church believes in freedom of choice. And its believers are therefore free to choose. God is the judge, not the Church.
Do you think that the Catholic Church is too strict in its teachings?
Maybe it’s easier to follow the teachings of other religions or sects which function differently from the principles of the Catholic Church. For example, as a Catholic, you need to confess your sin if you have committed a mortal sin. This might be seen as asking a lot for somebody to do, especially confessing to a man who himself commits sin. You need a certain humility. But God wants it this way. Through the Sacrament, priests are given this power to hear the confessions of sinners and to ask for God’s forgiveness for the sins they have committed.
Will there come a time when the Catholic Church will accept female priests like in other churches?
The decision has already been taken by the Pope. There will never be a time when a woman will become priest. It is against God’s teaching. If women could become priests, Jesus would have also taken women as disciples. Since Jesus Christ started his church on earth, the Church has a tradition to follow
What about the fact that many Catholic youths are leaving the faith for other churches?
They are using their liberty of choice. You have those who go and come back later. It does not bother us.
The church relies a lot on the work of lay persons, the “laik” as we say in Creole, doesn’t it?
Their mission is to assist a priest in his duties. The Church is not only about priests. It is also about those who have been baptised and the believers. The supportive role of all is very important.
How important is the Bible in the teachings of the Church?
The foundation of the Catholic Faith is the Bible. God’s words and tradition are found in the Bible that we have inherited from Jesus Christ. We encourage our followers to study the Bible. That is why there is a lot of bible study taking place.
There is a scarcity of priests.
This phenomenon is happening everywhere in the world. It does not apply only to priests – we also do not have enough nuns. It could be that people are better off in terms of financial and material security and they do not want the burden of looking after others and follow rules that are considered as strict.
Will the Church ever allow a Catholic priest to marry?
This is being discussed by the Vatican and no doubt there will come a time when a positive decision will be taken.
(Father Edwin Mathiot was speaking to Marie–Claire Elizabeth as part of a future television programme on religious faiths in the Dyalog An Direk series on the SBC.)