In its latest issue, fanning religious animosity and fear, ‘Renewal Novsornni Renovação’, the Pastoral bulletin of the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, has warned that ‘Goa is expected to see the next holocaust after Manipur’. It further adds, ‘By squandering our votes on fly by night parties, we got what we deserved: the fruit of our political stupidity. Defeat led to another round of defections.’
It is the August 1-15th issue of the Pastoral bulletin, dedicated to World Youth Day, further states, ‘As Goa drowns in the shallow waters of the Mhadei, Goans are busy going abroad to serve others again, instead of running the government, business, and other activities in their own land.’
The article in the bulletin, written by Dr FE Noronha, tacitly highlights how the vow taken by Goa’s Chief Minister, Dr Pramod Sawant, of removing the Portuguese colonial signs in Goa, which took shape in the state when Hindu mandirs were destroyed during the Goan Inquisition by the Portuguese invaders, did not go down well with those at the Papal bulletin.
The article mentions, ‘The sporadic squeaks about destroying traces of Portuguese culture are announcements of the holocaust under preparation. Get ready to be paraded, you can save on your clothes. There are also sporadic announcements about places of worship.’
‘Goans need to unite, or they will perish’, warns the author of the article, Dr FE Noronha.
Spreading unnecessary apprehension, Noronha states, ‘People of Goa, enough of stupid Sao Joãos, dances, weddings, Corridinhos and alcohol, get down on your knees and pray whatever prayer you know. Your grandfathers rescued Goa in 1967. There is no Dr Jack Sequeira today, and Goans are not united. But situations throw up the requisite leadership and people rise to the occasion according to the crises.’
‘This is a crisis, make no mistake about it. Your churches may be demolished, your priests may be beaten up and mind your family members.’, he added.
Furthermore, the bulletin states, ‘If you have any sense left in you, please find some time off your easy lifestyle, to reflect over the fate of your land. Goa won’t be saved in Swindon; it has to be saved right here. Two generations back, our own Goan people were trying to merge Goa with another state. Now we have only one religion- opportunism, money making. Money can’t buy you peace, it is in fact the root of all evil.’
‘If our politicians have any character left in them, they should storm out of the communal formations and join the secular party. It’s time to unite India, not divide it; the politics required is one of love, not hate.’, the message in the article mentions.
The article in the bulletin, which is published by the Diocesan Centre for ‘Social Communications Media’ (DCSCM), from the Archbishop’s House, Altinho, adds, ‘A politician whom everybody ridiculed with idiotic names, has become the apostle and prophet of love, harmony and friendliness.’
‘The least that Goans can do in the next few months is to unite, putting aside their empty egos. Those egos are meaningless, you have nothing to be proud of, you have ruined Goa in the last 40 years. The least you can do to redeem your name is to bring together all the secular forces and send two secular representatives from this state to the national capital.’, the article conveys in its political message.
