[Goanet] Goa Church Cautious About Laws To Protect Old Goa

[Goa's Pride www.goa-world.com]

Goa Church Cautious About Laws To Protect Old Goa 






OLD GOA, India (UCAN) -- Church people in Goa have taken a cautious stand on a 
government proposal to protect Old Goa, the onetime Portuguese colonial base 
and center of Catholic mission in Asia. 




Government officials of this western Indian state discussed a new master plan 
for Old Goa at a July 17 meeting. It reportedly aims to check encroachment in 
the vicinity of Old Goa's church complex. The proposal would ban new 
construction within two kilometers of the complex and restrict construction 
within a wider radius. 

Father Francis Caldeira, who heads the Diocesan Center for Social Communication 
Media, spoke with UCA News on July 25. He said archdiocesan officials had 
discussed the plan with Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa and Daman, but the 
Church has no comment on the plan "for the moment." 

Even so, Father Caldeira, who represented the Church at the July 17 meeting of 
40 officials from 23 government departments, termed the government effort 
"honest." 

The priest said the Church wants to see how the government draws up the plan, 
which he described as still in the initial stage. The government has promised 
"that all stakeholders will be considered" in drawing up the plan, "so let's 
wait and see," he added. 

The Portuguese heritage of Goa and Daman archdiocese, which covers this tiny 
coastal state, includes several centuries-old church buildings in the Old Goa 
complex, an area with a radius of about 750 meters. 

The Portuguese conquered Goa in 1510 and made Old Goa their colonial capital in 
India. Later, it became the center of Catholic mission. Jesuit Saint Francis 
Xavier was among the missioners who made Goa the base for their work in Asia. 

State tourism director Elvis Gomes, whose agency is overseeing the new plan, 
told UCA News a new master plan for Old Goa is needed urgently. 

Jesuit Father Savio Barreto, rector of the 16th-century Basilica of Bom Jesu 
within the Old Goa complex, said a plan to stop indiscriminate construction 
activity in the vicinity, including mega-projects, "was long overdue". 

The priest said that just 200 meters from the basilica, which houses the bodily 
relic of Saint Francis Xavier, a housing complex is being constructed, 
violating the heritage norms. The authorities now fear the complex will be 
removed from the list of World Heritage sites, he said, adding that this "would 
be a great shame." 

Father Barreto said some "powerful people" have acquired land that once 
belonged to the Jesuits within the complex. "How they came in possession of 
this land is a mystery," said the priest, who charged a Hindu 
minister-turned-land developer is "a prime violator" in the area. 

The priest also noted a shipyard has also been allowed to construct within the 
heritage zone, despite objections he made to various 
authorities.http://www.theindiancatholic.com/report.asp?nid=11024

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