Sir, Just as India is a country of many hues, so is the Catholic community that is spread out from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, and Gujarat to Arunachal. There is no true unity in the Catholic community which every catholic knows. First there is the clergy-laity divide, which is widening by the day. Then there is the ethnic divide -- the Malayalees are separate, the English speaking don't mingle with the local folks, and so on. This is why, in many urban areas, there are strong associations of Malayalees who have more members and better finances than the cosmopolitan and heterogeneous Catholic associations.
The catholic church has undertaken multifarious welfare activities in both rural and urban areas. It has also been alert to the need for disaster relief -- as caused by floods or earthquakes. When compared to Government agencies, Catholic social welfare services have been sincere and impartial. It's a different matter that the Catholic Church, catholic missionaries, caritas, catholic relief services, etc are not catering to the needs of poor and deprived Catholics instead they are catering to the needs of poor and deprived non-catholics so that the poor non-catholics can be converted. The focus on fraudulent conversions and increasing the numbers does not serve the faith but is going to create more problems for the existing poor catholics who are already facing severe economic problems because of religious discrimination in India. The Church should instead promote multi-culturalism and inter- faith dialogue. Evangelism cannot be a measurement of a society’s socio-economic development. Rather, the evangelism programme funds should be utilized for the welfare of poor catholics. There should be a 30% reservation of seats for catholics, in Church-run schools, colleges, technical institutions and other vocational organizations. Those catholic institutions which fail to reserve 30% seats for catholics should be de-classified as minority educational institution and should be taxed as commercial ventures. A handful of priests and bishops are monopolizing Church funds and property in the country. The Clergy including Priests, Bishops and Cardinals are monopolizing the Church estates and treating it as their own property and are indulging in its sale-purchase without the consent of the catholic laity. The Government of India should introduce special laws to protect Church property and land that is currently being misused and sold by the clergy. A few rogue elements who have infiltrated the Catholic religious orders have destroyed centuries of sweat, tears, sacrifice and blood by hundreds of thousands of Catholic priests and nuns. The silent inaction by those in charge left ALL priests suspect. Which priest could now be trusted? Fortunately for the Church, the vast majority of uninvolved priests bore the cross and pain with patience and humility. They knew that "This too shall come to pass". Catholic associations and sabhas must become the public face and spokesperson of the catholic laity in all socio economic and political affairs and not the bishops. The catholic associations and sabhas must become more active and representative of the catholic people. Bishops and clergy must "let go" of domination in temporal affairs. It is not enough to pay lip service to the role of the laity. The hierarchy must humble itself to actively encourage the leadership of the laity. The Catholic Church has to create a culture of partnership by giving the lay catholics prominence in the official decision-making bodies and assisting them in their political involvement. Rather than merely expecting catholic students to complete the minimum basic exams (S.S.C, H.S.C etc.), we must train them for professions that will make a mark in civil society; for instance, IAS, IPS, UPSC, Law, Medicine, Engineering, Politics. In addition, they should be made aware of larger issues of national and global interest through introducing them to other cultures, other faiths, social and political awareness. Don’t know about other parts of India but here in Bombay it is extremely difficult for catholics to get government jobs, loans, housing and other govt. facilities. This is the reason why the eastindians were agitating for the OBC status. The SEZ file may have temporarily gone in the cold storage but the eastindians in gorai-manori-uttan very well know that the land sharks, politicians, builders, corporates, maharashtra state will not rest till every inch of land in gorai-manori-uttan is gobbled up. Eastindians in Vasai are also loosing land. GOANS : They have become too suseghad ( lazy ) to revolt against the politicians who are trying to make a Slumbai of Goa. Search Google for the words – bleddy goans – for the article on the suseghad goans. website http://www.goanet.org/ EASTINDIANS : – Ruined forever and ever and ever because of all their lands in Bombay being grabbed by the Maharashtra state, Bombay Muncipal Corp., Collectors office, Politicians, Builders, Mafia, Slumlords as well as due to genetic problems of alcoholism - infighting – jealousy – disunity – lack of interest in reading bible - lack of interest in taking part in parish activities - lack of interest in higher education. website: http://www.bombayland.blogspot.com/ PAGAN MANGALOREANS : They have accumulated a lot of property and wealth in Bombay due to their Unity & Entreprenueral & hardworking & highereducation & other skills & support from the mangy clergy. The Portuguese hunted them out of Goa because of their refusal to abandon pagan customs even Tipu Sultan was fed up of the pagan customs of the mangys. An important aspect of Mangalorean Christians is that they remained rooted in their local culture and language. Their attitudes are influenced by the Kerala Christians to their south, and their northern neighbours, the Goans. http://www.mangalorean.com/ MALYALEE’s: They are all over the world with a United Kerala Samajam. But hardly they are united in anything inside their own state that they are up with violence and strikes that no one wants to start an industry there. There are around 45 lac mallus in the Gulf they not only make it harder for other communities to get jobs in gulf but the type of politics they play in the offices is also amazing. http://www.prokerala.com/ ALCOHOL : The Portuguese gave the bad habit of drinking alcohol to the people living in the Bombay and Goa region. That bad habit has been passed on from generations to generations. There are a lot of Bevdas (drunkards) in the catholic villages of bombay and goa addicted to country liquor and feni this is the reason why Bollywood has always depicted catholics as Bevdas. WHITEBREADS : Eh Paowallas. Whitebreads are made from white flour or maida. Day in day out consumption of Whitebreads has made a lot of goans and eastindians ugly, unhealthy, unhygienic, obcese and lethargic. The Goans gave the bad habit of eating whitebreads to the eastindians. PORK : Pigs in the Bombay and Goa region are grown around human settlements and end up consuming gutter water & human excreta ‘suvar sala ghoo kha ke rahega’ so by consuming Pork the Catholics of bombay and goa are indirectly consuming gutter water and human excreta. The Holy Spirit Hospital has become a malyalee den.... A couple of years ago I had taken a very sick Koli boy to get admitted... The counsellor was busy attending to some "bhaiyya" parents of a sick "bhaiyya" child... The parents were sitting at the table opposite her and the Counsellor (malyalee nun) had organized milk and bananas for this child.... She told me to wait outside... Finally when I went in after listening to me and giving me dirty looks she told me that Kolis are very rich, look at the earings on the koli woman’s ears ( the koli boys mother had worn tradditional Kaputtas)…..Then I tried to make her (mallu nun) understand that in Koli Society if the wife didnt wear jewellery, it meant that her husband was a gambler or a drunkard........ I then requested,.... then pleaded.... then begged of the mallu nun to give the koli boy a bed with concession rates. Finally she agreed but not before telling me... why dont you share some of the expenses... I told her I am paying for the medicines and I am begging of my Catholic sister to provide a concessional bed... I was bitter but swallowed my pride and my anger... Such is the situation... Malyalees in our land throwing their weight... This is why a lot of our EIs are leaving the catholic church... Nobody cares for us East Indians... And the East Indians who can care.... dont bother to think of their EI brothers and sisters.... I am a very sad person these days for the reason.... even my cousin... after moving around with Goans and Mangys has begun to criticize the way we east indians behave… He is telling me "What East Indians?".... no one cares for each other.... see how the Mangys are united... I tell him it has to start somewhere and he shrugs and says... "I think its too late".... I on the other hand am a person who never gives up... I am trying another angle... I have started praying for East Indian Unity. A few radicalized Mobaikars ( East Indians & Koli Christians ) are planning to setup a 4000 sq. ft. Church in Mobai/Bombay most probably in the gorai/manori/uttan region. The Church will be equipped with solar panels on the roof which will partly power the lights, fans, audio system inside the church. The church will not have a parish building next to it only a parish office, graveyard, hall, library & small sports playground will be around the church. The church will obviously require land, funds, permissions, etc and it may take years for the plan to become practical. The name of the church will be ‘Mobai Solar Power Church’. The church is not going to have a full time priest. Priests will be hired on freelance basis including retired priests even married priests will be allowed. The Mass in the Church will be a shorter version of what catholics hear in regular churches and the church will only cater for mass for baptism, wedding, funeral and during the Easter and Christmas season and feast days and other important religious days like all souls day, ash wednesday, etc and two masses on Saturdays and Sundays. Masses will be only in the English and Marathi language. The Church will have a hall, library and a small sports playground around it. The hall will be mainly used for radicalizing other Mobaikars in political activism. The library will contain books on various subjects including religion, medicine, law, engineering, politics for those mobaikar youths who are interested in higher studies. The sports playground will be used for physical training of the mobaikar youth. Regards, Daniel Gonsalves, Bombay.
