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Churches innovate to meet growing demand By Keith Gama There have been 16 instances ofvandalism to religious places of the Roman Catholics. Though the Goa police have taken steps to control these instances of violence and vandalism they have found very little success. The Goa Archdiocese is divides into approximately 159 Parishes with a few hundred Chapels, of which a few are secluded and therefore it is not possible to keep a watch on each of these Churches and Chapels. Of late many of the Churches are undergoing renovations. Two churches, that of Benaulim and Loliem have been reconstructed. The main reason for these renovations and reconstruction is due to the falling apart of the original structure, the other reason is due to lack of space for the congregation of that Parish. On how the plan of the renovation and reconstruction of a Church orChapel is carried out, Fr. Nelson Sequira Chancellor of the Goa Archdiocese and Diocese Commission for Sacred Art and Heritage explains "Firstly the plan is sent to the Fabrica Cofre, which is the financial body of the Church, where the financial situation of the church is studied for granting permission. The Goa Archdiocese and Diocese Commission for Sacred Art and Heritage committee consisting of an engineer, an architect and Liturgical person besides other people with interests in architecture, review the plan to see what structural changes are required and can be made to the original structure. We not only see the renovation part of it but also from the point of the security of the Church. While carrying out renovation certain liturgical laws and norms like placement of the Tabernacle, its design and a few other norms are to be followed." As far as the thefts and vandalism was concerned Fr. Sequira informed "some where back in August last year The Arch Bishop had sent a letter to the then in charge of police, but received no reply. Later in October, the Church approached the DIG of Police in regard with these cases. Following this there was a meeting at the Bishops palace attended by the DIG, the DSP of both North and South Goa wherein a few suggestions were made by both the parties to control this situation." He further stated "at the present an inventory is being made of all the suggestions to prevent further damage. This is being done keeping in mind the isolated Chapels. The Parish Priests were asked to collect the panchanama reports from their respective police stations, but all have not yet reached the Bishops Palace. The Holy Cross Church is one of the few Churches under renovation at present. The Parish Priest, Fr. Victor Rodrigues said "Concerning security we have already reinforced the doors of the Church. The doors cannot be changed due to the carvings on them. Besides that we are looking at using internal locking. Most of the valuable items have been locked up in the strong room. Where the rest are concerned we have already got a photographer to click snaps of these items and their placing for the sake of information." He further informed "a few years back we used to have people spending a night in the church. We are seeing the possibility of starting this practice back again. We will do what we can for the security of the Church." A member of the Verna Fabrica, Jacinto Vaz, one of the Verna parishioners who attended the meeting at the Bishops Palace said "Suggestions like lighting up the church, using alarms, making a strong room, having people at sleep in the Church, and a few others had been put forward at the meeting with the Bishop." At this the Parish Priest Fr Victor reiterated "We will do what is in our hands." Where as Fr Ventura Lourenco, Parish Priest of The Holy Spirit Church, Margao, where renovations have already been completed said "concerning security of the Church, we want the sacristan to sleep in the Church. Most of our valuables are already locked up in the strong room. We want to put the rest of the valuables also there. We have put alarms for the Chapel at the Monte, but it is not possible to put sensors and alarms in the Church as it is very large. We have already lighted up the Church. Due to the lack of funds, that is all we can do right now. " Though most of the culprits are moving around freely, the police are not able to book the culprits. Here is where the Church and its parishioners will have to play an active role to put an end to the problem. -- Peace be with you! Gabe Menezes. London, England
