It is the message like the one by Miguel Braganza that makes many Hindus (whether they subscribe to the Hindutva philosophy or not) to view the issue with any sense of calmness. He says: "Inquisition was about CHRISTIANS, Roman Catholics to be specific. Period. Forced conversions, if any, during the same period are NOT a part of the Inquisition. It takes time to understand, and differentiate between the two." I have read that the Inquisition was intended to ensure that the converted Christians did not relapse into their own ancestoral traditions. But I have also read that it was also used against non-Christians all over the world and not just in Goa. The horrors that were inflicted in the name of Inquisition on these converted Christians was terrible. One can then imagine what would be the case for those who are not Christians. As far as forced conversions is concerned, there is nothing called "if any". Such things happened all over the world. An African leader is supposed to have said: "When the missionaries came we had the land and they had the Bible in their hands. They asked us to close our eyes. When we opened our eyes, we found that they had the land and we had the Bible in our hands." Or words to this effect. As far Miguel's statement on the Archbishop (namely, "The Archdiocese of Goa is still a force to reckon with."), this is quite an arrogant one. Sachin Phadte _________________________________________________________________ Tried the new MSN Messenger? It’s cool! Download now. http://messenger.msn.com/Download/Default.aspx?mkt=en-in
