80TH BIRTHDAY OF MY TEACHER GERALDO PACHECO.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SIR GERALDO PACHECO.

 

 

Mr. Geraldo Pacheco seen sixth from left with his wife.

 

 

Yesterday, 1st August, it was a very especial occasion for me along with a few of my ex Arpora School colleagues to greet our teacher Mr. Geraldo Pacheco on his 80th birthday, at his residence at Parra, Bardez, Goa. 

Thanks to the initiative of my ex colleague Mr. Cipriano from Arpora who currently is holidaying in Goa from UK, we a few of us joined together and visited Mr. Pacheco's place to greet him.

Mr. Pacheco's first assignment as a teacher was at St. Joseph's High School, Arpora, Bardez, Goa, in 1965.  Earlier he was working in Bombay after his graduation in Science. He passed his matriculation thru Arpora school which is the first English High School of Goa. This school then had a very high standard not only in academics but also in sports and other extra curricular activities. Besides being a very good student at Arpora, Mr. Pacheco was a very good sportsman excelling in athletics where Polevault was his forte in which item nobody in Goa could outbeat him at All Goa Interschool Athletics competitions.

I was his student from the day one he joined Arpora where he taught me General Science, Maths, Physics and Chemistry till I finished my SSC.

As a teacher he was excellent and as a human being he was much more than that, for this reason we feel not only like respecting him but more than that, adoring him.  In this direction we grabbed this rare opportunity to go to his place and greet him on this rare occasion, personally.

For me personally, he was not only a great teacher but more than that a great guru, mentor and a great guide who always guided me in the right direction besides helping me to cope up with my studies. Being a top sportsman in Goa as a footballer and an athlete there was lot of distraction on my studies but Mr. Pacheco would immediately come to my rescue.  He wanted me to complete not only my SSC but also graduation. He told me one thing, "for people like us, education is the only mode to cross all the man made barriers". 

Otherwise, he was also helpful to other students but on me he focused his attention more because I was then a top sportsman of Goa from that school and since student sportsmen were not known to be good students, he used his wisdom to elevate me in studies as well.

At 80, he is doing well and looks active, enjoying his life well with his wife, children and grand children. This is a big blessing for him from God for the good work he did as a teacher and a human being. Teacher of his type are rarity nowadays because he belonged to that great Goan yesteryears generation.

Sir, I wish you all the best and many more happy birthdays. May God Bless You with good health.

 

A. Veronica Fernandes,

Candolim, Goa.  

Tel: 7507394349.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BOOK "AMCHI BHAS-I" RELEASED.

 

The new book "AMCHI BHAS - I" in Roman Script Konkani released thru the hands of Fr. Joaquim Loyola Pereira yesterday is very good for the Konkani students especially for the beginners as well as for the Teachers.

 

Cover page.

 

 

“AMCHI BHAS – I”,  a new book in Roman script Konkani authored by the renowned Panjim based Jesuit Priest and a scholar in Konkani has been released on Friday, the 31^st of July 2014, at 4.30 PM. The book releasing function was held at Tiatro Academy Hall, Panjim, Campal.  The proceedings of the entire function was compeered by Jose Salvador who is also a scholar in Konkani. This function was well attended by the Konkani lovers, Konkani promoters and Konkani supporters except some of those who claim to be the leaders of Konkani in Goa. It was a pity to see such fake Konkani leaders abstaining from attending this function organized for the cause of Konkani.

 

Released Book shown

 

 

This book is published by the Broadway Publishing House, Ashirwad Bldg., First Floor, Near Caculo Island, 18th June Road, Panaji, Goa. In his speech, the author Fr. Prataph Naik showered fabulous praises on the publishers for doing their job excellently and for being lenient for payment.

 

 

Chief Guest Fr. Joaquim Loyola Pereira addressing the gathering

 

 

The Chief Guest Fr. Joaquim Loyola Pereira highlighted the scholarly knowledge of Fr. Prataph Naik in Konkani and for taking so much of pain to complete this 32nd book of his.

 

 

 

Guest of Honour Wilson Mazarello addressing the gathering

 

 

The Guest of Honour and a well-known Konkani Stage artiste Wilson Mazarello who is on forefront in Goa to promote the cause of Roman Script Konkani and to obtain recognition for it from the government, admired Fr. Prataph Naik for his efforts in the promotion of Konkani.  Mr. Mazarello in a special way showed his admiration for Fr. Prataph Naik for his contribution in the development of Roman Script Konkani. 

 

 

                                               Fr. Prataph Naik addressing the gathering

Fr. Prataph Naik in his scholarly speech briefed the audience the difficulties he encountered in completing this book and added saying that until two or three more books come out from his Pen, he will not remain silent. Taking this opportunity, he thanked everyone who assisted him in one way or the other in completing this book, including to Tomazinho Cardoso, Irene Cardoso and Premananda Lotlikar;  incidentally all the three were absent in the hall. 

 

 

A. Veronica Fernandes,

Candolim,

Goa.

Tel: 7507394349.

 

 

MONEY MAKER PE.VIGARS & PRIESTS.

Further to my article in this forum in the first week of May this year on members of clergy climbing on top to collect money for their personal benefit by making use of the position in the Church, immediately then after our Pope at Vatican also issued a statement condemning the Clergy who follow Jesus for money. I don’t know whether He read the said article or not even though I regularly send one  copy to Vatican yet in his statement the Pope echoed my thoughts as indicated below. 

In the month of May this year, our Pope Francis from Vatican commented against those clergy members who by using the Church platform, collect money for them.  Here it is what the Pope has said of the corrupt clergy by condemning them as profiteers and climbers who use the Catholic Church  to make money for them. Said the Pope, “There are climbers in the Church. There are a lot of them. People who follow Jesus for money, try to profit from the parish, the diocese, the Christian community, the hospital, the college. We have known a lot of good Catholics, good Christians.  And then we discover that they have been carrying out somewhat shady dealings. They were real profiteers and they made a lot of money. They presented themselves as benefactors but they took a lot of money and not always clean money”. Further adding, Pope Francis demanded total transparency in all the financial dealings of the Church and of clergy.

As far as I know not a single Pe. Vigar disclosed this comment from the Altar while preaching his homily, however, if Pope Francis had to request the clergy to ask money and other material benefits from the faithful, our Pe. Vigars and other priests would immediately disclose this loudly with top priority. According to one source from Vatican, Pope Francis is very much disappointed with the indiscipline of the Bishops and Priests who are on loot spree by sucking the blood of the faithful. It looks Pope Francis is aware of the loot systematically conducted in our Churches also and this loot will never end unless there is complete transparency of all the financial dealings and financial matters of our Church.   

Is our Goa Church maintaining total transparency in its financial dealings? Does it show transparency in the money it spends, especially the money it collects from the faithful? Is there any discipline for the Church authorities and clergy to collect money from the faithful?   Our Church leaders and clergy go about ruthlessly like wild animals in collecting money from the faithful.  Last year in the month of August I was on a short vacation in Goa. This incident happened in one Parish below my nose and similar incidents happened elsewhere too. To collect money for that particular Parish, the local Pe. Vigar printed Lottery Tickets, each ticket Rs. 10/- and each book consisting of 20 tickets.  These tickets the Pe. Vigar who is also the principal of the Parish School marketed thru all the students studying in his school by distributing one book to each student.  If there are 3 students from each family then three books to each family. It was a big burden for the children and even for their parents.

Most of the students found it very difficult to sell these tickets however, to please their Pe. Vigar/Principal of the school they even started begging with the people to purchase these lottery tickets. When one young girl student approached one young boy with a request to purchase some tickets from her, the cunning boy said “Not only some but I will buy the whole book provided you come to have sex with me”.  And very deplorably and pitiably the girl having no other choice to dispose of the tickets book, surrendered her body to that stupid boy. This is only one incident which I know but in this way there are innumerable such incidents which gone unnoticed.  And who is responsible for such incidents? Definitely our Pe. Vigars and principals who are acting more like Pimps than Pe. Vigars.

Thru these incidents our Pe. Vigars are creating avenues for our young boys and young girls to commit sins resulting in collecting money, for whom?  Where this money finally goes and into whose pockets?  Surely a portion of this money goes for the maintenance of the Concubines of Pe. Vigars/Principals. In view of this, we have no right to ask God in our daily prayer for “THY KINGDOM COME” because HIS Kingdom will never come to a place where there is Sin promoted thru illicit money making methods of our sinful and corrupt Pe. Vigars and other priests.

Education department of Goa under the ministry of Parricar should investigate into this matter because Pe. Vigar Principals cannot tax the students by unnecessarily burdening them on such money collection business. It is not the job of school students to collect money for the unknown ventures of the Pe. Vigar Principals. At an appropriate time, Education minister of Goa will be notified to take corrective action and to reprimand the guilty.

 

A.    Veronica Fernandes,
Candolim,
Goa.
Tel:7507394349.