PRODIGAL SON RETURNS BACK HOME. HOPE AS REFINED.

Till just 48 hours before Babush Monsurate was denying his joining Congress but just before 24 hours, yesterday he boldly and shamelessly re-joined Congress without even indicating his slight regret for  being in denial mood for so many days.  This is what the bad habit of our politicians of doing what they want at the last minute. By doing this he put into shame and also awkward position all of his workers and supporters who in order to support Babush, created enmity with Congress Party and its workers?  Did Babush realise this that he was the architect of the enmity between his workers and Congress? Or Babush feels the way we say in Konkani "Te boslet mojea Konkear, zaina te dusman, moje sadlea puro".Though I am happy for this prodigal son to return back home yet I am afraid how long he will remain in Congress to accomplish the mission of his Honeymoon?  

Like a Butterfly jumping from one tree to the other is his habit and what guarantee is there that he will not do the same again? If he gets what he wants, he is capable of saying "Congress ba gelet Tel launk, moje makam mevlea puro". These are the politicians who have brought disgrace not only on our democracy but also on our political system. He wants to be omnipotent  wherever he goes but will the Congress surrender its omnipotence to him if he fights for his way to do what he wants as he did last time? At this moment he is an asset for Congress  no doubt and also to all the anti-BJP forces but will he remain an asset or will he jump into BJP for the top ministerial post? Since I have no trust in any politician to be sincere, will Babush at least give me back my trust by remaining  faithful to Congress?

As I know him, Babush at times is a nice human being having vast potentials to do good for Goa and Goans, his Goanness is much superior to that of many others but his craze for power is a big hindrance. Hope he will be a refined Babush now. 

A.Veronica Fernandes.

FR. CONCEICAO'S APOLOGY.

I am deeply disturbed by reading in Times of India today 17.04.19 that our great Catholic priest, a supporter and promoter of our rights, Fr. Conceicao D’Silva has tendered his apology to the Collector in Margao. I am sure knowing him from close angle and moving with him on social service and also as activist in 1991-92 when I was in Goa for one full year during the invasion of Kuwait while he was assistant Parish Priest of Calangute Church, Fr. Conceicao D’Silva would not take his word back.  However, in this episode I am sure heavy pressure must have been imposed on him by his superiors either from Altinho Panjim or elsewhere.  Following the Central idea of Hinduism which is the “Obedience”, I am sure he must have tendered his apology by obeying the advice of his superiors. According to historian Toynbee, the central idea of Hinduism is “Obedience” while that of Islam is “Justice” and of Christianity “Love”.

By the way when you tender your apology you don’t become small but you must be perfectly convinced that what you are doing is correct.  Fr. Conceicao is also known for his humility and helpfulness and I made use of both his attributes when we needed some help from the local Bom Samaritan to settle one court case we were fighting against one tenant at the time of the construction of our Hotel at Calangute, Hotel Goan Heritage.  Fr. Conceicao at that time with the full blessing of his Pr. Vigar like a true Bom Samaritan did help us and this kind gesture of his I remember very well. Besides, he gave his help to many people whether he is a Christao or Hindu or anyone.   

The intellectual might of Fr. Conceicao is very great, so too the spiritual because of which he was well protected by the Heavenly God.  His political “dusman” and also the “Devchar” were prowling on him to liquidate him but with the mighty protective hand of God he is well protected and will be protected too in the future. What he preached in the sermon was absolutely true, he explained how God sends His punishment on the arrogant and cruel man.  The miserable death came on Parrikar was according to wisdomatic  persons deserving because he fooled the people of Goa enough.  Good that the death has snatched him from this planet otherwise he would become like a Dada and would employ Hitlerism to create unwanted problems for the innocent people.  Of late I noticed in him that power has reached to his head and became corrupt.  According to Political Scientist Prof. Laski: Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Because of his death we escaped from tasting his absolute corrupt power.  This type of episodes help us to warn our our living people to control their pride and arrogance and this is the job of the clergy to inform the living arrogant persons to behave well otherwise they will suffer from deadly sicknesses like Pancreatic Cancer, Brain Hemorrhage, Paralitic and Cardiac Strokes etc.  Thru the fear of God, our clergy brings back the proud and the arrogant to their senses back. Was it not that due to the punishment of God so many of our “Torne Bonge” MLA’s and Ministers gone to the Simitir and Musudni? Is it not that some are still suffering as punishment from God for creating troubles for the innocent people especially from the minority community?

Elsewhere in India some speakers were known to speak so badly that what Fr. Concecao spoke is nothing and yet they  were left scott – free while priest like Fr. Conceicao was reprimanded by the South Goa District Collector Ajit Roy with a warning not to repeat such actions and also with an advise “to confine himself to his priestly duties only”. Here I ask the learned Collector who gave his final verdict, “who told him what Fr. Conceicao D’Silva expressed falls beyond the Christian duties and outside the boundaries of Christianity?” I think our Jokers at Altinho imposed heavy pressure on Fr. Conceicao because they were I think, afraid that government would withdraw the grants the Diocesan Schools are getting. For this reason I think all the hurry and all the pressure for Apology. The grant that Diocesan Schools are getting from the government is not from those who are running this show and they are giving this not from their personal account.  It is the grant given by the government from the public money.  But the money accumulated thru the income from the Diocesan  Scoiety is going into whose pockets?  Who is responsible to take care of this money?  In the construction of Diocesan Schools the contribution of the Church is zero if not  negligible.  In our village when the Church School built it was built thru the finance collected from the local parishioners based in Goa and outside Goa but the profit the Church makes out of this was not shared by the Church with any one leave aside with poor students in helping them to buy books, uniforms and other necessary amenities.  In the name of charity we make our Church rich and richer and finally and ultimately in whose custody this accumulated money will fall?  Church leaders are likewise hiding many of the financial transactions, for example, where does the Sunday and other Holiday Money Collection goes? In some Gulf countries a few of those who are entrusted withthe task of counting and collecting the money from the Tray are become “Lakhpotis”.  And what about ours?  The real truth must come out.

A.Veronica Fernandes.    

WELL DONE FR. CONCEICAO D'SILVA - MY SUPPORT TO YOU.

This is to refer to the noise going all around regarding the controversial sermon preached by as disclosed, Fr. Conceicao. I fully agree with this priest in using the Church area and not a Tinto to educate the Christians as per his pastoral duty to know of the final punishment God allocates for any person who unnecessarily harasses the innocent. It is the sacred duty of the clergy to educate his people of what is good and what is bad as far as the behaviour of the politicians are concerned and who are trying to convert our land into  Soddom and Gomorrah. Since politicians are the main sinners to convert Goa into a sinful place, it becomes the duty of the clergy like Fr. Conceicao D'silva to advise the faithful in the Church to do what.  I admire the wisdom of this priest whose Video of his preaching gone viral.  This is exactly what is required to spread the message of the priest to greater number of peole. 

When there is an all-round persecution for Christians in our land and when God notice the inability of Christians to face the aggression on them then God delivers His judgment as a curative measure to give peace to the innocent victims by getting rid of the persecutor of harassment, in the form of any major sickness to the culprits.  God side not only with the harassed Christians but also with any other harassed individual and community since God is the father of all irrespective of the routes we follow to reach to God. I am sure one day all those who are fighting in this world in the name of God and in the name of their respective religions, the deadly communal battles, wars and worst fights thereby creating an inferno of this world, will be surprised to see in the next world after their deaths again burning in the Inferno of the Hell. This will be their reward for creating communal riots and fights. At that point of time they will feel sorry for their misdeeds which did not help them to reach to the Heavenly bliss.        

Regarding those pundits who are trying to teach us the Christians, the lesson saying priests should not involve in politics, again I disagree here too with this tin-pot semi-intelligents on the ground that when there was heavy campaign in Philippine to overthrow the corrupt President Ferdinand Marcos, the entire Church there openly rallied behind Cardinal Sin of Philippine who openly supported incumbent Corazon Aquino and open revolt against Marcus’ government. When He was unable to find out what was the real reasons for the entire Church to fight against Marcos, the then Pope Himself came to Philippines, saw what wrong was going on there and gave Vatican’s  consent to involve directly in this politics there to defeat Ferdinand Marcus to bring about peace in that country for the good of society. What our priest doing now in Goa is right for the good of the society otherwise our political opponents will devour us not only bodily but if possible soully. I have no faith in BJP for doing anything good for the Christians in Goa. They will gradually convert Christians as second class citizens of Goa just as those days MGP followers did and just because of this harm they did for Christians, I think God brought them to this non-entity level. And still the remnants of the old MGP still fail to realize their pride especially the Davlikars and their wives, then God will totally annihilate MGP from the soil of Goa.  We Christians have suffered enough of MGP persecution and discriminations and It is not necessary to ask punishment of God for our wrong doers because He knows whom to punish by sending what type of desease or accident or sickness.  But we also got right to ask punishment for our enemies when they are unstoppable, however, to give punishment is the decision of God who alone knows the chemistry of those who harass us.

Politics is the most  corrupt activity among us needing total attention especially by the clergy to educate our masses.  Martin Luther King the civil rightist took this burden on his shoulder and to a large extent he succeeded even though he had to be the victim of his enemies bullet. In Nigaragua  Catholic Priests were inducted into the Cabinet of Daniel Ortega.  Many clergy members criticized this induction but they never got frightened on the contrary they thanked Ortega for affording them the opportunity to serve their society well because they realized that it is by joining the political field they could serve their fellow human beings better.    

I heard once a sermon preached by one priest many years ago when I was young boy, saying “Deva tea paddayank to apleache podven ani kuddichea bollan lokanche narl choriam paddta tachi nit tuvenuch korchi, tachea eka tori payank kosli na tor kosli tori khast launchi na tor to amkam sotaitolo moro passun”.  In view of this, I cannot find fault with Fr. Conceicao going against the principle of the Christianity by preaching thus. Fr. Conceicao or for that matter any “Padri” is duty bound even to instruct the faithful in his sermon not only not to vote any disgraceful party but he is duty bound even to tell the faithful to vote for a particular party if that party is good and non-commuunal.  If  “X” party is bad then he must as true to his mission of a Padri tell openly that particular party is bad and if they are elected then there is a fear for our survival because that particular party when formed the next government, that government will take all wrong decisions, in view of this the clergy must advise the faithful in the right direction.

I don’t understand why the Church had to tender an apology on behalf of Fr. Conceisao, I want Fr. Conceisao should be strong enough at this hour of crisis and we on our part are ready to stand by him even if the Church may desert him. Our Church job is this only to desert those dynamic priests who wants to render their services for the betterment of our society. Did not our Church desert Fr. Bismark thereby allowing his enemies to make a mess of his life? Our Church leaders at moment looks like acting as Naziz with stone hearted attitude.  Today we the Catholics are so backwards because our Church leadership at the Altinho failed to guide us in the right direction.  Our Church leadership is in the hands of Ladru-Pedru type of leaders, these leaders normally are associated with Liquour – money & Sex.

Our Church at moments it looks to me is in the hands of unreliabale leaders, some of our prominent Church leaders by flirting with our enemies at night time like “Pamprelam” sell us to our enemies at day time to form their government.  Because of our Church siding with the BJP in the last election as it was disclosed, the faithful has totally lost their confidence in the Church leadership. The faithful have totally lost their trust in our Church leadership because silently like “Kole” our Church leadership without letting us know flirts with BJP when we the faithful keep our distance from BJP because we don’t like such “CEDDIOPONA". Such jobs are better suited to the Prostitutes.

A.Veronica Fernandes.