Bermuda's Anglican Church head Bishop Ewen Ratteray has brushed off calls for his organisation to provide scholarships to the community as a recompense for the church's role in slavery.

Last week The Royal Gazette reported that Minister of Culture and Social Rehabilitation Dale Butler had joined forces with the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) in making the scholarship suggestion, which CURE proposed to the church in a letter dated February 26 and published today.

However, Rt. Rev. Ratteray replied to CURE's proposal in a letter last Friday and in it, he tells CURE's chairperson Michelle Scott, that whatever the church decides to do – they will do it in their own time.

In 2006, Premier Ewart Brown applauded the decision by Britain's governing body of the Church of England, affiliated with the Anglican Church, for issuing an apology for its role in the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade.

The Bermuda body of the Anglican Church, which is affiliated with the Church of England, subsequently accepted a challenge from the Premier to follow England's lead.

The church accepted by expressing its regret for involvement in the inhumane treatment of blacks at an event last year, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade.

On the same day, in a CURE speech, Mr. Butler invited the Anglican Church to go further than their admission of guilt and "come forward with some kind of compensation in terms of scholarships for youth."

In Mr. Ratteray's letter, he states: "I am aware of the statement that Mr. Dale Butler made at the service in the Cathedral last year.

"He has since made similar comments quite recently I understand.

"However it is our intention to fulfil the commitment we made last year in our own time and in our own way, regardless of suggestions from various sources outside the church.

"Our ongoing life as a church is a testament to our commitment to healing and reconciliation, for we are probably the most integrated of all the churches in Bermuda."

Prominent anti-racism campaigner Dr. Eva Hodgson last week welcomed news that the church was considering the proposal made by CURE and the Minister while reiterating her view Bermuda is still a divided country.

Furthermore, Dr. Hodgson suggested a scholarship programme would be a step in the right direction since the Anglican Church once lead the way in apartheid policies.

She stated: "It's always good when a Minister or someone in political leadership chooses to draw attention to what our racial divide still is.

"The Anglican Church in this country was not only a participant but a leader in the policy of apartheid," Dr. Hodgson noted. "And it was a follower when it came to minimising the policy and breaking it down."