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The founder and general secretary of CSF, Dias’s profile on the organisation’s
webpage calls him a “Christian activist for the last 25 years”.
In the last few years, whenever there has been any protest against a work of
art on behalf of the Catholic community, Joseph Dias, 50, has always been at
the forefront — be it the call to ban Ekta Kapoor’s production Kya Super Kool
Hain Hum for “caricatured portrayal of a Catholic priest”, the protest against
the film Da Vinci Code and later Angels and Demons, or more recently, Kaizaad
Kotwal’s play Agnes of God.
The founder and general secretary of Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), Dias’s
profile on the organisation’s webpage calls him a “Christian activist for the
last 25 years”. While the name of his organisation may come across as
contradictory, Dias says it was formed to take up cudgels on behalf of the
minority community. “We are often misrepresented, ridiculed, stereotyped,” says
Dias, who launched the CSF a few years ago.
In the last few years, whenever there has been any protest against a work of
art on behalf of the Catholic community, Joseph Dias, 50, has always been at
the forefront — be it the call to ban Ekta Kapoor’s production Kya Super Kool
Hain Hum for “caricatured portrayal of a Catholic priest”, the protest against
the film Da Vinci Code and later Angels and Demons, or more recently, Kaizaad
Kotwal’s play Agnes of God.
The founder and general secretary of Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), Dias’s
profile on the organisation’s webpage calls him a “Christian activist for the
last 25 years”. While the name of his organisation may come across as
contradictory, Dias says it was formed to take up cudgels on behalf of the
minority community. “We are often misrepresented, ridiculed, stereotyped,” says
Dias, who launched the CSF a few years ago.
Mostly referred to as ‘Bro Joe’, Dias, a former freelance journalist, was also
the founder of a charity organisation called The Cross in the late ‘90s. The
organisation was dissolved after allegations of financial misappropriation. The
CSF is currently fighting similar allegations.
When asked about these charges, Dias replies that they have no bearing with his
current fight against Agnes of God, a play that is accused of “misrepresenting
the religious belief of the Christian community”.
In the press statement issued by Cardinal Oswald Gracious, dated September 29,
the church seems to have distanced itself from Dias’s call for a ban, although
it said it had “serious reservations” regarding the play. “The Catholic Church
upholds a broadminded openness towards literature and art, and does not clamour
for bans on literary and artistic works,” said the statement.
"The business of bans must stop, be it on consumption of beef or on movies &
other works of art. And if one does feel concerned, one should first view the
work of art & then take the step in form of a rational argument or proper legal
procedure." says Dolphy D'Souza, former president of the Bombay Catholic Sabha.
