Contact

-A quarterly magazine of the Goan Chaplaincy, UK

His Holiness Pope Francis
March/April/May2013 Vol 24: Issue 1

Let us protect with love all that God has given us!
Pope Francis

Christmas Celebration at Cranford Mass Centre

Contents
1-Editorial 2-Chaplain Calling 3-Chaplaincy Diary 4-Pope Francis 5-Coat of Arms of Pope Francis 6-Papal Election 7 Through Bridges of Faith 8 A little walk from London to Walsingham 9- Gay Marriage 10 Anti Christian Violence and Dalit Connection 11 Fr. Agnelo Devotion 12-News Round up 13-A loving tribute to Fr. Antimo Gomes 14-Subscription Form

Editorial
Dear Reader, For the first time in almost six hundred years, the Vatican was recently faced with a resignation at the highest level. We respect Pope Benedicts decision and his reasons for such an action. It is quite certain that he did not assume office knowing that he would be resigning in eight years time. A decision such as this must have been made after thorough introspection and intense internalization, particularly as he would be aware of its significance and obvious consequences. We extend a warm welcome to our new spiritual leader Pope Francis and pray for Gods grace to allow him to guide us forward. The point to be pondered upon from the situation that led to his election, is that all of us, even the most blessed among humans are after all, prone and subject to limitations and challenges, be they related to health or any other aspect. Preparation is the key to a better existence in every sense of the term, for it is not for us to predict the future. God has his own ways, sometimes perceived as being strange. However extraordinary as it may often seem, we must learn to accept that only He has the ultimate plan for each one of us. Trying to alter this plan is merely an exercise in futility by humans. Being ready for what is in store for us can be facilitated by living The Word in our day-to-day lives, which we must try and accomplish as best as we can, and as often as we can. As we celebrate the Risen Lord, let us pray together that the world may live in the renewed hope that Easter brings. The current issue of Contact has an interesting mix of articles and features. As always, please feel free to contribute with your thoughts and reactions; your inputs are always welcome. On behalf of the Goan Chaplaincy, I take this opportunity to wish all our readers a very Happy Easter! Cecil de Melo Editor

Dear friends It was in Lourdes in 2008 that I had the first glimpse of Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus in person when the Goan Chaplaincy had organised a pilgrimage. It was a wonderful experience to see and listen to him. I was again privileged to be for the Mass held at Westminster Cathedral when he had visited United Kingdom in 2011. As for me, and for many of you it was a shock and surprise when he announced his resignation, I couldnt help wondering about the day of this announcement-it was 11th of February, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes! The question on peoples mind was; what now, whats going to happen to the future of the Catholic Church? What about the troubles and challenges that we are facing? What is he going to do after he has stepped down? At first, I too felt anxious! But soon I felt an assurance thinking of the day he chose to do that and so too understanding his great sense of the Church as founded by Christ, supported by Christ. In his address at his last General Audience on 26th February, we got clear answers to our concerns! He used the Gospel image of the fishing boat on the Sea of Galilee with Peter and his disciples facing the dangers of the stormy seas while the Lord himself slept in the stern of the boat. He used this to allude to the difficulties and challenges that the Church has to face at this time. With great eloquence, He then spoke of his own faith and trust in the Lord who had accompanied him through his ministry as Pope and who would never desert the Church.

His words came true and brought serenity to our hearts as the Lord provided us with a new Supreme Pontiff in the person of Pope Francis, a person who reinforces the simplicity and humility of the Good Shepherd. He reminds us also that our strength lies in Christ alone, that Christ is the foundation on which we face the future and all its difficulties. Pope Francis exhorts us to have courage ..to walk in the presence of the Lord, with the Lords Cross; to build the Church on the Lords blood which was poured out on the Cross; and to profess the one glory: Christ crucified. As we reflect on the past events and the mystery of our salvation, let us enter the Easter season with a sense of joy and gladness and pray for one another and especially pray for our Pope Francis to help us on our journey with the Lord and share in our task to protect with love all that God has given us! As the Pope himself said, my prayer for all of us is that the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, our Mother, will grant us this grace: to walk,

to build, to profess Jesus Christ crucified !

A Blessed and Holy Easter 2013

With all good wishes and an assurance of my prayers, Fr. Francisco J Rosario
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GOAN CHAPLAINCY UK DIARY 2013

APRIL
1APR-7APR 2013

DAY

TIME

OCCASION
HCPT-PILGRIMAGE

VENUE
LOURDES, FRANCE ST.JAMES CHURCH, READING HOLY ROOD CHURCH, SWINDON ST.ANSELM CHURCH, SOUTHALL SS.PETER & PAUL RC CHURCH, MITCHAM

07-Apr-13 SUNDAY 14-Apr-13 SUNDAY

4.30 P.M KONKANNI MASS 3.30 P.M KONKANNI MASS

20-Apr-13 SATURDAY 4.00 P.M KONKANNI MASS 21-Apr-13 SUNDAY 3.00 P.M KONKANNI MASS

27-Apr-13 SATURDAY 3.00 P.M GOLDEN WEDDING ANNIVERSARY ST. MARYS CHURCH, SWINDON 28-Apr-13 SUNDAY 28-Apr-13 SUNDAY MAY 06-May-13 SUNDAY 11-May-13 SATURDAY SATURDAY 18-May-13 SATURDAY 3.00 P.M SILVER WEDDING ANNIVERSARY 19-May-13 SUNDAY 19-May-13 SUNDAY PENTECOST MARGAO FEAST 3.00 P.M KONKANNI MASS SS.PETER & PAUL RC CHURCH MITCHAM ST.JOSEPH COLLEGE HALL SWINDON ST.CHRISTOPHER CRANFORD LOURDES FRANCE HOLY ROOD CHURCH SWINDON SALIGAO ASSO FEAST SANTA CRUZ FEAST SWINDON 4.00 P.M KONKANNI MASS 5.00P.M KONKANI MASS ENGLISH MARTYRS CHURCH, WEMBLEY PARK ST. CHRISTOPHER CHURCH, CRANFORD

25-May-13 SATURDAY 6.00 P.M OUR LADY OF FATIMA FEAST 26-May-13 SUNDAY 27 MAY-1 JUNE 2013 JUNE 02-Jun-13 SUNDAY 13-Jun-13 THURSDAY 5.00 P.M KONKANNI MASS GOAN CHAPLAINCY PILGRIMAGE

4.30 P.M KONKANNI MASS(WORKERS DAY) ST.JAMES CHURCH READING ST.ANTHONY FEAST HOLY ROOD CHURCH SWINDON ST.ANSELM CHURCH SOUTHALL

15-Jun-13 SATURDAY 4.00 P.M KONKANNI MASS 16-Jun-13 SUNDAY 16-Jun-13 SUNDAY 23-Jun-13 SUNDAY 23-Jun-13 SUNDAY 30-Jun-13 SUNDAY

3.00 P.M KONKANNI MASS SS.PETER & PAUL RC CHURCH MITCHAM ST.ANTHONY FEAST (WILLESDON 4.00 P.M GOANS) ST.MAGDALENE CHURCH WILLESDON 12.30 P.M BENAULIM ASSO FEAST NORTH LONDON 5.00 P.M KONKANNI MASS 3.00 P.M ST.PETER & PAUL FEAST ST.CHRISTOPHER CRANFORD SS.PETER & PAUL RC CHURCH MITCHAM

Retreats and Healing services will be held from 19th July to 3rd August 2013 Preached by Fr. Joe Santiago and Rt. Rev. Olwin Barreto, Bishop of Sindudurg Diocese, India. Details to follow. Check www.goanchaplaincyuk.com

Pope Francis
VATICAN CITY With a puff of white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel and to the cheers of thousands of rainsoaked faithful, a gathering of Catholic cardinals picked a new pope from among their midst on Wednesday choosing the cardinal from Argentina, the first South American to ever lead the church. The new Pope, Jorge Mario Bergoglio (pronounced Ber-GOALio), 76, will be called Francis, the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He is also the first non-European leader of the church in more than 1,000 years. Francis, who had been the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, is the first pope not born in Europe since Columbus alighted in the New World. In choosing him, the cardinals sent a powerful message that the future of the Church lies in the Global South, home to the bulk of the worlds Catholics. I would like to thank you for your embrace, said the new pope, dressed in white, speaking from the white balcony on St. Peters Basilica as thousands of the faithful cheered joyously below. My brother cardinals have chosen one who is from far away, but here I am.

Speaking in Italian as he blessed the faithful, Francis asked the audience to pray for me, and well see each other soon. Good night, and have a good rest, he concluded, in a grandfatherly, almost casual tone. It was like waiting for the birth of a baby, only better, " said a Roman man. A child sitting atop his fathers shoulders waved a crucifix. Viva il Papa!
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The Coat of Arms of Pope Francis

EXPLANATION OF ARMS SHIELD In sections, the essential, the Pope Francis has decided to keep his coat front, chosen from his episcopal consecration and characterized by a linear simplicity. The blue shield is surmounted by symbols of papal dignity, the same as those taken by his predecessor Benedict XVI (miter placed between crossed keys of gold and silver, bound by a red cord). At the top, stands the emblem of the order of origin of the Pope, the Society of Jesus, a radiant sun and flamboyant loaded from the letters in red IHS monogram of Christ. The letter H is surmounted by a cross, at the tip, the three nails in black. Below, are the star and the flower of nard. The star, according to the ancient heraldic tradition, symbolizes the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ and of the Church, while the flower of nard shows St. Joseph, patron of the universal Church. In the iconographic tradition Hispanic, in fact, St. Joseph is depicted holding a branch of spikenard. By placing these images in his shield, the Pope wanted to express his particular devotion to the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph. MOTTO The motto of the Holy Father Francis is taken from the Homilies of St. Bede the Venerable, priest(Om. 21, CCL 122, 149 -151), who, commenting on the Gospel story of the calling of St. Matthew writes: "Vidit ergo lesus publicanum et quia miserable atque eligendo vidit, ait unlimited Sequere me "(Jesus saw a tax collector and as he looked at her with feelings of love and chose him, said to him: Follow me.) This homily is a tribute to God's mercy and is reproduced in the Liturgy of the Hours of the feast of St. Matthew. It has a particular meaning in life and the spiritual fact of the Pope, on the feast of St. Matthew the year 1953, the young Jorge Bergoglio experienced at the age of 17 years, in a very special way, the loving presence of God in his life. Following a confession, he felt touch the heart and felt the descent of God's mercy, that with the eyes of tender love, he called to the religious life, following the example of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Once elected Bishop, Archbishop Bergoglio, in memory of the event which marked the beginning of his total consecration to God in His church, decided to choose as its motto and way of life, the expression of St. Bede miserable atque eligendo , that he intended to play even in their own papal coat of arms. 9

The Papal Election

...Mario J Fernandes

The Catholic Church never fails to surprise. In the latest episode, it has done it again by belying all predictions and the bookies favourites by electing a complete outsider as its 266th pontiff. It goes to show how alien the media is to the thinking of the church and is a testimony of the churchs resilience and inner strength to charter its own course whatever the rest of the world outside it may want to say. That it has remarkably refused to get swayed by the frenetic media speculation speaks volumes of its capacity, resilience and collective wisdom to decide what is best what itself in the prevailing situation. In the recent exercise of electing a new pope, it has dared to break new ground, reflecting the emerging reality of the churchs outreach to the new world. Thus, we have a first pope from the Americas, the 1st non-European since 741 AD (when Pope Gregory III, born in Syria ended his reign) and the 1st Jesuit, despite the Society of Jesus being the largest religious Order within the Catholic Church. Pope Francis, within just a few days of his papacy, has already created a huge impact on the faithful and non-faithful alike by his professed simplicity and an easy-going approach. But behind this amiable exterior lies a doctrinal conservative who like his predecessor has upheld the traditional church values, much to the chagrin of the neo-liberals, the latter perhaps more peripheral than within the Church. However the high-decibel sound bytes have already made enough noises to deflect from the positives that the election of this pope has accrued. Pope Francis, in choosing the unprecedented papal name has sought to cast his papacy in the mould and image of St Francis of Assisi, who although born of very rich parents devoted himself to a life of poverty. It is a strange coincidence that the other St Francis, the co-founder of the Jesuits, too was born in nobility and decided to renounce all the earthly trappings of power and glory. My first thought actually raced to our Goycho Saib, given his status amongst the Jesuits. But I guess it
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matters little to someone determined and focussed, to model his papacy on the virtues of austerity and humility. The Pope as the Cardinal Bergoglio has already proved the above leading by a personal example of taking a bus or cookPope Francis meets Pope emeritus ing his own meals or washing Benedict XVI in Castel Gandolfo the feet of the AIDS victims, and so on. His adoption of the papal name gave a statement of his intent. But as the Head of a global Organisation, he may be constrained to tread a cautious path. Although it is a welcome break to talk about those virtues, all of them are much in evidence amongst the vast array of priests, especially the missionaries who sometimes have to go without food and basic amenities of life, except that it remains obscured to the media and the opinion-makers. All that comes to the surface more often is the negative behaviour of a minority of priests that seem to be the staple diet of sensationobsessed journalism. This is not to condone their black deeds. But to paint the whole Church with the same brush with so much of negativity splashed across is both diabolically unfair and dishonest. Aware that a greater burden of responsibility and obligation is thrust upon them owing to their sacred vows and being in the public square, it is only right that they are seen as epitome of moral rectitude and compassion. But what about the rest of us? Can we cast the first stone? Well, let us pray then that our new pope will be given enough space and freedom to lead the church to greater heights and also the courage to purge it of undesired elements responsible for all that negative fall out.
Pope Francis: I implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and Saint Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my ministry, and I ask all of you to pray for me! Amen. 11

THROUGH BRIDGES OF FAITH

Anson Samuel

They were huge. And massive. The sight of those overpowering mountains amplified my fears. Our four-wheeler was bumping and sliding against the relentless rains with its wipers to and fro, as if following the chaotic state of my mind. From what I had heard, this was virgin territory. Arunachal Pradesh was in my mind, a cornered state of my country. The only descriptive adjectives that had fallen on my ears were raw, remote and scary. One could say I had a biased perspective. Little did I know then that the experiences I was to encounter and the lessons I would consequentially learn would ridicule my disposition and make me feel raw and remote instead. Even faithless. On my first village visit along with Fr. Allan, my mentor and friend, I was offered a cup of water. And as I was about to take the first sip Fr. Allan stopped me midway and asked me to cross myself. What! I thought in my mind Im just having water, this isnt time for grace. No, hed say as if reading my thoughts, its common practice here to make a sign of the cross before we take anything that is offered. Reason would tell me this is a vain practice and nonsensical. Wisdom reprimanded me otherwise: We ask God to bless everything we have and are grateful for everything he gives us through nature and people. It was also here that an important fact became so clear to me. That simplicity is really simple. And Jesus had something in mind when he announced a rather simple practice of faith. The people of north-east India are unimaginably close to nature. For their needs they will first turn to traditions. And so their actions are pure and instinctive. Also passionate. Like the forces of nature.

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Nestled among these lofty and majestic mountains, you will find tribals in a community, sharing, loving and living. Just like the first Christians. The villages are sparsely scattered among the hills taking us hours to walk from one village to the next. Sometimes we calculated the distance between villages by days on foot. No roads for vehicles, no electricity, no mobile phone network just paved ways through dense jungles. It was here that the real test came. In the April of last year I was supposed to visit Ranghill, one of the villages furthest from the parish. And I was travelling with my student who was to get me there. Not being familiar I did have my slips and falls, but there were places and moments when I just couldnt take a step. I just wanted to give up and go back. Leeches dropping from plants, climbing up my legs. The toughest call came while walking the bridge crossing a deep river, the bridge itself was so scary made of roots and bamboo; chills ran down my spine. Wapol, my student, aware of my fear said to me, Brother dont worry. Hold my hand and walk. Just like you would hold Gods if He were here . There again; simple and in my face. How true, I thought to myself. When we are standing at the edge of trouble all we have to do is let off and clasp Gods hand tightly asking him to help us cross the scary bridges we have created. And He will. He simply will. Our tribals arent privileged because of this geography to have the most holy Eucharist celebrated to them so often as it is elsewhere; they have it maybe once or twice in a year. When luck really favours them, maybe thrice. 13

But their Catechist will lead them into Eucharistic prayers every Sunday, at the strike of the morning bell. Every walk to the village is etched in my mind like an isolated pilgrimage, a unique experience of my faith. We enjoyed celebrating our faith with them and they demanded a deeper understanding of it from me. They were recent converts. Some as recent as fifteen years. And I was brought up in faith, we came from generations of Christians. They challenged the foundations of my faith nudging me to delve a little deeper into the vastness of our beliefs. In the lap of nature, squatting on a mud-floored chapel high atop the hill, one cannot but experience the gentle touch of God and His manifestation in such a tangible manner learning from Him. To me, gradually, the over bearing mountains began to have an amazing sense of firmness and calm. What was agitated was now serene. They were a witness of the Majesty of their Maker. One of the best experiences was last Good Friday, when we were having our service and through the doors of the bamboo hut that we called our chapel, the clouds rushed in and embraced every faithful. The experience was nothing short of Heavenly. Sometimes I think to myself: I had volunteered to serve their faith. But did they need me or did I need them?!
Novena Prayer to St Jude O Holy St Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, near kinsman of Jesus Christ, faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special patronage in time of need, to you I have recourse from the depth of my heart and humbly beg to whom God has given such great power, to come to my assistance. Help me in my present urgent petition, in return I promise to make your name known and cause you to be invoked. Say your petition. Say three Our Fathers, three Hail Marys and three Glory Bes. St Jude pray for us and all who invoke your aid. Amen. (Publication must be promised. This novena has never know to fail. This Novena must be said for 9 consecutive days). Mrs. F.Aldred 14

A little walk from London to Walsingham

Errol Dsouza

For the past six years I have taken part in a Holy Week pilgrimage known as Student Cross, which involves walking from Epping in Essex all the way to Walsingham in Norfolk whilst carrying a large wooden cross all the way. The journey takes seven days and covers a distance of around 125 miles; the cross itself weighs around 100 lbs and three of us carry it at a time. With the exception of a couple of nights we sleep on the floor in church halls along the way. We arrive in Walsingham on Good Friday and celebrate the Easter Tridium there, before returning home (by coach not on foot!) on Easter Sunday afternoon. What follows are a few reflections on what this journey has meant to me and what I have learnt from the experience. Sleeping on a hard, cold wooden floor is not nice but the reality is on most nights we are so tired we would sleep well anywhere. No one expects to get a full nights sleep (after all, there are always snorers of differing volume) but if we manage perhaps 5-6 hours of good sleep that is sufficient and we are ready for the next day. Some bring inflatable mattresses, some just a foam mat. Perhaps the worst times are when in the middle of the night some of the snorers are at full volume and every minute seems like an hour; the floor is hard and dusty and all you want is to go to sleep and to wish you had a real bed. But these moments are also powerful and can be put to good use I offer them up for the safe repose of my beloved fathers soul. The countryside we pass through is often very beautiful. There is agricultural land, fields, small villages, rivers, streams and also fields with horses, ponies, lambs and sheep. Depending upon the time of year the landscape also varies enormously. If Easter is early and falls in mid-March it is still very much a barren, winter scene; but if Easter is later and comes in April then the fields are transformed with the yellow of rape-seed and the pink and white of cherry-blossom trees. The East
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Anglia landscape is notoriously flat so when the wind comes there is not much protection and the worst feeling is being hot and sweaty inside several layers of clothes but outside being pierced by an icy-cold wind which does not relent. Conversely, when the sun shines everything seems so much easier and we relish every moment of being warm and savour the fresh air of the villages and countryside. On the third night of the journey we reach a small village in Hertfordshire where parishioners take us into their homes and provide us with a hot shower, a bed, dinner and breakfast. This particular night is always one of the most eagerly-awaited but also the most thought-provoking. This is because we are so grateful to have a bed and we are so grateful to have a hot shower it makes us stop and realise how fickle we are because when our home comforts are taken away from us even for one night how much we miss them. When we arrive at the parishioners homes we are smelly and dirty and exhausted we are strangers to them but they take us in and they feed us. We are entirely reliant entirely on them to provide us with shelter, food and warmth and this too is something which makes us stop and think long after we have returned home. This is what it truly means to be a pilgrim. Two or three times a day, perhaps in a field or in a quiet spot we stop and rest. One person in the group gives a short testimony and reflects upon something personal to them but which they would like to share with everyone else. These moments are amongst the most special of our journey usually theres just complete silence and stillness as we are in a rural setting and no-one really knows what the person is going to say or speak about. It is an opportunity for each person who is speaking just to be themselves and speak openly about what is on their heart and in a safe setting. We all learn from each other and each one speaks from the heart there is no room for superficiality or disguise because, ultimately, on such a long journey you reach a point when you are too tired to pretend to be someone that youre not.
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Eventually by 4.30pm on Good Friday we reach our finishing point at the Slipper Chapel in Walsingham. We are all sore and in pain, very dirty and more often than not cold but those moments are golden. When we process into Walsingham there are press photographers, a police escort, sometimes TV cameras, applause from local residents and well-wishers. But the glory is not ours it is Gods glory and everything we do is for Him. In conclusion, for each person on the pilgrimage and each one of them is truly different in terms of personality and character the journey means and represents something different. And, in turn, each year the journey means and represents something different from the other years. Hopefully for all though, the journey always means that we are growing closer to God and that we rejoice in the fact He has given us two feet and two legs to be able to walk the distance in order to bear witness and praise Him. Also, He has given us two arms in order to carry His cross and to bear witness to everyone we pass by during the seven day journey. Easter Sunday comes and we shout from the top of our voices Christ is Risen Alleluia Alleluia and we return home in the sure and joyful knowledge that Jesus has conquered the grave. We return home overwhelmed with the astounding miracle of Easter we cannot understand even 1% of that miracle but we believe.

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The Vote Was Never a Vote by the People Code Toad, a blogger at Freepublic.com, in response to President Barak Obamas administrations announcement that it would support a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defines marriage as a legal union between a man and woman said in his post: America would turn 100% against the sodomites if two men sodomizing each other was placed on prime time TV. It is simply gross. Thereafter another blogger responded to this post saying, True, but if it was two super hot women getting it on there would be record ratings-at least among the men. Codes response to this was I bet you're thinking of 2 porn models getting it on. What if 2 ugly ass bull dykes (which are what normally people are) were on the same show? Would you want to watch that? Codes comments are a candid reflection of the depravity and repulsive nature of homosexuality, leave alone Gay marriages. As he has pointed out, if people actually see the depravity involved in homosexual activity, it would be shunned by the entire population anywhere, except by those suffering from the problem due to emotional and psychological reasons, though many psychologists would aver that such a problem does not exist in psychiatry. The fact that a majority of the House of Commons voted in favor of Gay Marriages, necessarily does not mean they were reflecting the views of their voters, particularly because none of them have run on electoral campaigns on Gay marriage as the primary issue. In fact, they cannot make this a primary election campaign issue because an overwhelming majority of the population is heterosexual. Married couples are married because they consider marriage a norm and the family structure that comes with it as sacred and something which continues life. It additionally provides meaning and purpose to life. The House of Commons vote in favor of Gay marriages is also not based on the long-held values of their political predecessors who gave the world the first English language Bible and entrenched its values in the legislations they made. Instead, it is a product of their own uninformed assumptions
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Gay Marriages: Resist or Perish By - Oliver DSouza

about their constituency and about their own convictions about the role of morality in personal and corporate life. This is particularly demonstrated considering that just about two hundreds ago, homosexuality attracted capital and other forms of severe corporal punishment from the government in the US and England as well. And this has always been the case in history except in cases like Sodom and Gomorrah, where Divine intervention had to put an end to it because the government was part of it. Now they want to make it a law in the UK? The Root Cause So what changed in these two hundred years other than the appearance of a miniscule gay population in the UK for matters to come to this state? Were the moral codes of created human beings changed by the creator? No. The book from which it came remains the same. As various theological and social studies have revealed, after the industrial revolution, becoming more self-reliant and comfortable, man felt he needed God less and His laws even lesser, gradually eroding the established codes of moral conduct in various areas of life codes which inevitably find their roots in the Bible. Such erosion took on pandemic and then epidemic proportions after the gigantic leaps in science and technology in the 20 th century and man even more increasingly started seeing himself as the sole master of the universe and of himself. This is adequately substantiated by the widespread and successful efforts to remove any references to God or morality in educational centers, and in political and public life. Thereafter, the epidemic phenomenon of free-sex devoid of any issues of conscience or religion arrived during the 50s and 60s, growing to the point that today you have twelve-year-old kids having sex. Once you take such path of degrading sex to a mere and wanton act of pleasure and lust between a male and female without any issues of morality and logic involved, it is always just a matter of time before this pursuit of pleasure and lust would lead to same sex relationships and take on an ominous form, as is currently the case denoted by the demand for Gay marriages. This is what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah as well. Sodomy did not exist in these cities from their inception.
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The people of these two cities were initially devout to the God of the Old Testament and all His precepts, including those that abhor homosexuality. At the same time, sodomy as an accepted practice did not happen overnight in those cities. It was part of a progression of erosion of moral values, including violations of moral laws regarding sex between man and woman, such as adultery and fornication. The appearance of various pagan teachings revolving around luscious goddesses further tempted them to give in to delusions of satisfaction and contentment that directly contravened Gods Law, and they gave in. Discarding the boundaries ordained for a moral personal and corporate life, they gradually moved away from Gods Law to eventually get overcome by lust and pleasure to the extent that that the inhabitants created a predominantly homosexual society approved by the rulers. The situation now is no different. The politicians who voted in favor are products of the same insidious moral, having been shaped by a society that has drastically and increasingly been rejecting morality in personal and corporate life. Therefore, it is no surprise that they now vote in favor of gay marriages, often referring to the various studies, relentless demonstrations by the Gays and to the voice of some segments of the public, especially intellectuals, as justification for their stand. (to be continued in the next issue) Oliver DSouza is the author of the award winning Book Truth About Dalits. Visit www.truthaboutdalits.com

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ANTI-CHRISTIAN VIOLENCE AND THE DALIT CONNECTION

The Christians in Orissa are gradually recovering from the carnage unleashed against them by the Hindu right wing outfits in the state. Because of the violence, 127 Christians were murdered, including 7 priests and pastors, two nuns raped, 54,000 rendered homeless and 20,000 children lost a year of school. In addition, 315 Villages and 252 churches were destroyed, 4,640 houses burnt, 252 Churches destroyed, and 13 schools and colleges were razed to the ground 1. The violence started with the murder of a Hindu religious leader, who was running an anti-Christian campaign. The Naxalites, who have taken up to arms to gain equal rights for the marginalized sections of society, admittedly killed the man. The tribal Christians, however, were expectedly blamed for the murder -- expected because that is how the Hindu right wing operates misinformation, manipulation, incitement and hate campaigns to further its Hindutva agenda. Preceding the violence, for years there has been an active anti -Christian hate campaign in the state, first publicly rearing its head in the ruthless burning alive of the Australian Missionary, Graham Staines, and his two minor sons, Mark and Philip, in early 1999, and the murder of father Arul Doss, soon after. The hate campaign began following increasing conversions to Christianity of Dalitbahujans, more particularly of the tribal. These converts are among the most impoverished among Christians in the country. Other than the converts, the victims of violence are evangelists, pastors, priests and nuns. As in Orissa, the pattern and cause of violence against Christians in the rest of the country is the same. In Gujarat, for instance, in 1998 the tribal Christians were targeted, their prayer halls burnt, their properties destroyed and Catholic institutions and evangelical prayer houses attacked following a prolonged hate campaign. The demand of the saffron outfits is uniformly the same: reconvert, and do In Jayapore, even women and children took to the streets armed not accept converts. 21
with clubs and bamboo sticks to fight the VHP activists

Causes of Anti-Christian Violence Predominantly, the Catholics and the Evangelicals are the target of anti-Christian violence in India because of their visibility and their work. Besides evangelical NGOs and organized evangelical churches, India has a large number of independent pastors and evangelists, particularly in the smaller towns and rural areas. Through their work, an increasing number of Dalitbahujans are spiritually emancipated. The people who have thus become Christians have abandoned their old bondages of the caste system. They are gradually developing a new identity centered on the Bible and its relevance to Indian society, and are integrating into the larger Christian community. Simultaneously, as a result of the Catholic church emancipation efforts, hundreds of thousands of the Dalitbahujans are educated and empowered every year, enabling them to break free from the poverty that caste has brought to them, in turn empowering them to fight for their rights in other spheres. Such emancipation has a two-fold effect. One is the loosening of the hold of the upper castes over the Dalitbahujans. Though casteism and its complimentary abuse are very much alive and kicking, the ongoing emancipation of the Dalitbahujans, along with the numerous laws that make overt discrimination on caste basis difficult than before, has led to increasing opposition to the caste system and the upper caste hegemony by these people. The other effect is that the emancipation of these sections affects the economic well-being of the caste Hindus who thrive by exploiting the impoverished and illiterate condition of the Dalitbahujans. Since the caste fraternity is not able to prevent these marginalized sections from emancipating themselves due to existing laws, they are instead targeting those who are emancipating these people, namely, Christians. Two Objectives, Little Success The anti-Christian violence has two purposes. On one hand, it intends to deter the evangelists and the Catholics
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from continuing their work among the Dalits and the low castes. The other is to dissuade the marginalized sections from embracing Christianity, and to coerce new converts to revert to Hinduism. So far, they have met only with partial success through their efforts, limited to evangelical NGOs. The independent pastors and churches in the rural areas, as well as the Catholic and mainline Protestant endeavors, on the other hand, continue their work more or less as before. The new converts too refuse to budge from their new religious identities, as demonstrated in Orissa. The principal demand of the Hindu right wing in the violence in the state is that the tribal and Dalit Christians return to the religion of their ancestors. However, despite family members being murdered, and despite being homeless and penniless, the Christians simply refuse to do so. When it comes to the Catholic Church, there is no question of taking its hand from the plow. One only needs to read the history of the Church and its role in social movements through two millennia to conclude that the Hindu right wing has taken on the wrong people. Their priest, brothers, nuns and sisters will rather be beaten, raped and killed than give up the mission into which they enrolled. Superficially, the violence seems to be unleashed based on religious identity, and this is partly true because the victims are Christians. However, the fact remains that this is also extended caste violence. Almost all of the victims of the violence are Dalit, tribal and other low-caste converts. While they were Hindus, they were being beaten and murdered because they were low castes and Untouchables. Now, as Christians, on one hand, they are beaten and killed out of vengeance for making a start out of the caste system, and to coerce them return to it, while on the other, to serve as a deterrent to their non-Christian brethren from converting. Sadly, the Dalitbahujans, for whom the Christian heart bleeds, commit most of the violence against Christians, at the behest of casteist forces.
Extract from Award winningBook:Truth About Dalits www.truthaboutdalits.com 23

Ven Fr. Agnelo Devotion

Friends of Fr Agnelo, UKan association of devotees of Fr Agneloorganised a talk for its members and collaborators on Ministry-a call to discipleship, to deepen the faith and involvement in their activities aimed at promoting the Cause of beatification of Fr Agnelo de Souza. The talk was held in the sprawling and serene ambience of the Kairos Centre, Roehampton on 12th February. It was delivered by Fr Ignatius Edet who was introduced to the gathering by Fr Francis Rosario sfx. Fr Ignatius touched upon a gamut of issues during the course of the talk in the context of collaborative ministry. Te themes included vocation to holiness, vocation within that vocation which he called as divine calling, clerical power/status, personal calling (individualism and communal), etc. At the end of the talk, there was an interesting question and answer session which encompassed a wide range of pressing issues that engage the mind of the faithful. Subjects like church doctrine, its impact on the increasingly secular society were efficiently tackled and addressed by Fr. Ignatius in this brief encounter.

Fr Lucas Rodrigues, the local superior of the Pilar Fathers the Society spearheading the movement for the Causesummed up the proceedings, and thanked the Association for spreading the devotion of Fr Agnelo far and wide. On a personal note, he said that he himself was transformed in his devotion to Fr Agnelo touched by the intensity of feelings that he witnessed people had for Fr Agnelo when the Pilar hillock
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comes to life every thursday of the week. He was further inspired when he discovered the depth of devotion during the staging of the opera Padr Agnelo Onond Goycho in Goa and Bombay a few years ago, when people flocked to touch and pay homage to the character who played Fr Agnelo in the opera. The chairman of the Association Mr Jovito Dias then wound up the days deliberations by proposing a vote of thanks.
News round-up India Post released a stamp featuring Shrine Basilica, Vailankanni on 22nd January 2013.

Our Lady of Vailankanni also known as Our Lady of Good Health is a celebrated Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary believed to have appeared in the town of Vailankanni, Tamil Nadu, India. Traditional beliefs surrounding the Marian apparition is held to have occurred to a young boy delivering milk goods to the neighborhood when the Virgin Mary, carrying a child Jesus, is said to have appeared and asked him for some milk. A Shrine Basilica was erected by Portuguese and Indians presently standing in the site of the miraculous event. The iconic depiction of the Madonna is also unique since it is one of two only icons where Mary is portrayed wearing an Indian sari costume. The other statue is said to have been buried with Emperor Aurangazeb. Many Indian Catholics have great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary under this title, dubbing the Marian apparition as Lourdes of the Orient due to the thousands of pilgrims who flock to its sanctuary on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary (8th September).

Looking out for a young Catholic man in London between the age group of 33-40 years, for my sister who is in Goa works for a construction firm as a manager, she is 33 Yrs, 5ft 4in - 162cm. Please reply to Goan Chaplaincy Box No 103 25

MATRIMONIALS

A LOVING TRIBUTE TO FR. ANTIMO GOMES

By Dr. W. Gomes.

Fr. Antimo Gomes, a deeply religious priest of seventy two years passed away in Panzorcone, Cuncolim, on the 12th February 2013. His final farewell at the chapel of Our Lady of Piety, Panzorcone on 14th February 2013, was testimony to the love and respect he held for his family, his fellow priests and friends of many classes and creeds. Fr. Antimo lived in a quiet, modest, unassuming way and unassuming, undemanding and quietly passed away. He was the son of late Mr. Minguel Santana Gomes and of late Mrs. Maria crizolina Gomes. Fr. Antimo was born on the 5th of March 1940, in the village of Panzorcone. He was second of the seven siblings, three boys and four girls. After finishing his Primary Education, he joined the Minor Seminary in Saligao and thereafter to the Major Seminary of Rachol. He has distinguished himself in the Seminary as an intelligent Seminarian and a very good and outstanding footballer. When he used to come home in Panzorcone, for holidays in summer, many Football Clubs used to ask his services to play football for them and he would unhesitatingly oblige them. After his Priestly Ordination on the 10th May 1964, sadly his beloved mother, Crizolina passed away and that was a shocking blow to the young Seminarian Antimo. Fr. Antimo then graduated in B.A., he passed his B.Ed. in 1969 and therafter he postgraduated in M.A. It was then that he was appointed as the Secretary of the Diocesan Society of Education and later its President. He was also the Director of the Lar-de-Estudantes, in Panjim. He was appointed as the Lecturer of St.Xaviers College, Mapusa in 1984 and in 1991 he was appointed its Principal which position he held till his retirement. He was the Father Vicar of the Church of Mardol as well as of the Church of Immaculate Conception, Panjim.
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He served in various institutions including Goa University. He was in the Committee of All India Association for Christian Higher Education and an Executive Member of Catholic Colleges in India. On August 24th , 2011 he was conferred the Honorific Title of CANNON in the Goa Cathedral Chapter by the Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao and posted in Old Goa. Fr. Antimo had a multifaceted personality. He was an able Administrator, and Educationist and a devoted priest, always obedient to his Superiors. It was as the Secretary of Diocesan Society of Education that he made his mark. Moreover, he served as the Secretary of the DSE, at a time, when it was going through a crisis. He lived with Dignity and Integrity. He had a Divine touch. He was an ardent supporter of Konkani. Fr. Antimo loved meeting his flock and could be seen engaged in animated conversation with someone whom he barely knew but whom he just found stimulating. He was always prepared to listen to an alternative point of view and particularly from the youth. He kept an open mind on fresh proposals and new challenges. He loved to discuss and it did not matter if he lost the argument. He worked tirelessly day and night with great zeal and total equanimity. Fr. Antimo s attitude to life was decidedly positive. It was not easy to ruffle him and he did not harbour grudges. With his immense sense of understanding, courtesy, unobstructed friendship and enthusiastic behaviour, he was a Perfect and Holy Priest to look up and be proud of. Suggestion: The Villagers of Panzorcone could have erected a Statue of Rev. Cannon Antimo in a prominent place in Panzorcone to perpetuate his memory. That could be a fitting tribute remembering him. Adeus Padre!
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SURREY CR4 1YG

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Reading Mass Centre: Epiphany of the Lord celebration.

Wembley Mass Centre: Feast Blessed Joseph Vaz

Mitcham Mass Centre: Feast Blessed Joseph Vaz

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