In today’s Times of India, Goa edition, on
page No.2 under the heading “Grave matter of funeral skip solemnity”, there
appeared a very interesting news item by Lisa Monteiro where it is said how due
to the current situation the final rites alone are directly performed in the
Cemetery by bypassing even the Mass in
the Church.
It looks very serious matter of denying the
dead person even the blessing of the
Mass. I don’t think it was made
mandatory by the government but it looks to me that the Church leadership to
indicate its over enthusiasm of obedience, it went one step ahead and decided thus: “if we are
expected only to bend down, we will go beyond that and to please the
authorities concerned we will not only bend down but we will stoop down too”.
This stripping of the funeral rites these days in the name of Corona Virus could have been easily settled nicely
by performing the rites at home as usual with the family members only and the Mass
in the Church also with the family members and
very close relatives. All these
people could be accommodated in the Church by spreading them on the benches far
from one another in keeping with the instruction of keeping a safe distance
between the two persons. As an added
support to this system, the Priest while offering the Mass can also say a few
words in explaining why this method has to be followed by asking the
co-operation of everyone and thereby
allowing only the close blood relatives of the dead person in the Cemetery.
If this procedure is followed, I
don’t think it would be an infringement of
professional foul needing the Red Card.
As it is, we are seeing so many people for a short time gathering near the Grocery Shops in the
purchasing spree and yet things are going well. In the name of implementing law and order there should not be any inconvenience to the public however even if by not implementing the law and order situation everything goes normal then those who are responsible for implementing the law and order they should just ignore and look the other side to allow the situation to move on its own. If the Church authorities feel
that my suggestion as indicated above is workable then I feel it should be
implemented.
In the same news item the writer writes
saying how difficult it is now to get the services of regular Grave Diggers and in
the absence of them this job is gone into the hands of migrant workers who are
also charging heavily.
While on this subject let me say something
more, traditionally this job of the Grave Diggers was performed by a certain
Caste people from Roman Catholic community and traditionally every village of
Goa was inhabited by their tribe in one Vaddo, this particular Vaddo was even
named after their Caste. During Portuguese rule in Goa with the backing and the
silent nod of the Bamon Bhattkarshahi that was very close to the Portuguese
Royalty and also to the Church, this particular Caste of Grave Diggers was
purposely kept at the lowest ebb without affording them any opportunity to develop and move beyond their own area of
Caste and they were given most menial work that was rejected by the others. However, when the last Portugues Governador
came to Goa somewhere in 1958, he opened their File and silently studied their problems and thru
his own officials started helping them first by encouraging their children to
go to schools and one from their Caste got qualified the Governador himself
made his efforts and got him the job of a Postmaster – Chef of Post Office – in
one particular village in Bardez.
Our Caste system was based on the
profession that we performed and also to keep the availability of their work unhindered for the requirement of the high grade, high caste and for the society as a whole like that
of the grave diggers, caste system was supported by our Church too. Precisely, because of this I feel, I Goa Church failed to oppose the practice of Caste system even in our Church premises, on the contrary our Goa Church supported and promoted the existence of Caste system in our Churches. Even the great Padris and Saint of Goa namely Pe. Jose Vaz and Pe. Agnelo remained as silent spectators in front of the Church supported and Church promoted Caste System. Because of this Caste System so many of our young Seminarians had not suffered the persecution and even dismissal from the Seminaries?
When Martin Luther the Civil Rightist and the Baptist denomination Christian in America, one day preaching in his Church at Montgomery, he preached thus pointing his finger to the Whites who by being White Skinners, by tradition and system of the Church had to occupy the Benches in the Church to the Right Side and the Blacks to the Left. Seeing this discriminatory system in the house of God, Martin Luther preached thus pointing out to the White Skinners: "My dear brothers and sisters, if you cannot integrate with the masses - pointing out to the Blacks - you will never integrate with Christ because Christ Himself come from the masses". This one sentence was enough to produce the required effect to create revolutionary effect against apartheid in USA. Did any Padri of ours in Goa during about 500 years of our Roman Catholicism said anything like what Martin Luther said from the Pulpit? Our Church was full of Casteism and most of our Brahmins promoted it in their daily routine, even the great Ghaum Bhau of mine Abade Faria (l'Abbe Faria) firmly believed in his Brahmin Caste and after his death when one of his books was published the author's name was indicated as " l'Abbe Faria, Brahmin, Doctor in Theology".
A.Veronica Fernandes.
