Charles Jason Gordon was born in Trinidad and Tobago on 17 March 1959. Gordon managed his father's failing business after his father died and managed to make it profitable all the while becoming involved in parish initiatives that led him to decide to enter the religious life.[1] He had shown his engagement in projects teaching skills to displaced people with an emphasis on adolescents. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1991.
In 2003, he was made the parish priest for Gonzales. He received some awards for his project to bring peace in the eastern part of Port of Spain through the participation of all the stakeholders (including the gangs and their leaders). He mediated between communities in conflict and improved the standing of the Church while saving lives at the same time which earned him praise from Cardinal Peter Turkson.[2][4] He celebrated a television Mass once a week and this reached out to as much as 50 000 people per week. Pope Benedict XVI named him as a Monsignor in 2009.[1]
On an annual basis he embarks on a week-long retreat for silence and solitude.[2]
Positions
Capital punishment
Gordon opposes capital punishment, which he considers "state-sponsored murder".[2] The bishop elaborated that "it's still murder" regardless of who perpetrates it and that "its escalating the violence" rather than focusing on stopping it. He also continued that "all people have human dignity ... that dignity does not go away when we do something really bad".[3]