Re: [Goanet] Still no native Indian Catholic Saint
The *natives* do not seem to care... - See http://www.bellevision.com/indexdetail.asp?lupd=299 Attur: Shrine of the miraculous saint Here is the spot where miracles happen for those who need one badly. This saint at Attur, Karkala, will not turn those away who come armed with a lit candle and loads of faith, says Amrita Nayak. In the serene setting of Attur in Karkala taluk, the church stands as a beacon of hope for thousands of worshippers. St Lawrence is known for his miraculous powers and the shrine has been attracting pilgrims who - they say - light a candle and find their wishes fulfiled. The eastern range of the Western Ghats, dotted with dense jungle is the spot where St Lawrence's shrine is located. The town of Karkala may have got its name from the commonly found black granites (Kari Kal), but the discerning eye can only see reflections of a rich history and heritage in the stones strewn around the town. About 38 kms from its district headquarters Udupi and 54 kms north-east of Mangalore, Karkala boasts of housing the shrine of St Lawrence, located at the foothills of mount Parpale in Attur village, 5 kms west of Karkala bus terminus. This little village refreshes the senses and infuses reverence. Born in Spain The miraculous powers of this shrine is attributed to St Lawrence, who stood for the poor and focused the Church's resources for their cause. Said to be born in Spain during the 3rd century, the fame of Lawrence's virtues reached the then Arch Deacon of Rome, St Xystus, who taught him the scriptures. When St Xystus became Pope, he ordained Lawrence as the Arch Deacon, in charge of the Church's riches and left him with the task of handing them out to the poor. In 257 AD, the church faced its worst crises, when Emperor Valerian ordered to destroy it and kill the Bishops and Deacons. Pope Xystus was arrested in the following year and he asked Lawrence to distribute the church's wealth to the poor. Thinking that the church had great wealth hidden inside its coffers, the local precept gave Lawrence three days to present them to the government. Burnt to death Lawrence went to the town, assembled all the poor and told the precept that they are the church's real wealth. Insulted by this action, the precept ordered Lawrence to be tortured in a frying pan. Lawrence surrendered himself to the god and his face exuded peace, while his body burnt in fire. The Attur Parish existed even before 1759. During Tipu's reign, Christians of this locality were among his captives between 1784 and 1799. The Parish, then located 7 kms from its present site, was destroyed. After Tipu's downfall, members of the community returned to the region and, lead by a Goan priest, put up a church with thatched roof on the way to Nakre in 1801. As this church building was unstable, the community decided to build a new one. A group carried a one-foot statue of St Lawrence and went in search of the land. They prayed on the way to St Lawrence, beseeching him to show them the right spot. They crossed Lake Ramasamudra, ascended Mount Parpale and went down the other side. On spotting a spring at the base of the hill, the party kept the statue to a side and quenched their thirst and rested for a while. When they decided to resume their search and lifted the statue, they found to their surprise that the statue was firmly stuck to the ground. The men realised St Lawrence wanted them to build the church in that spot. They prayed to the saint promising to build the church in that very spot, and they were once again able to lift the statue. In 1839, the year of its construction, St Lawrence Church became a famous shrine and the saint's statue has ever since been venerated by the faithfulls. It is believed the saint has blessed even those who have not visited Attur and the ever-increasing numbers of pilgrims to the shrine's annual festival (held on the last week of January during Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) indicates his soaring popularity. It is said that the saint grants any wish asked while lighting candles during the festival. Candles, available from one foot to seven feet, are also lit in normal days by pilgrims with specific wishes. The small pond inside the church called Pushkarini is also considered to possess healing powers. The cross found atop Mount Parpale marks the church's presence. To Know more about Attur Shrine visit www.stlawrenceattur.com Courtesy: DHNS
Re: [Goanet] Still no native Indian Catholic Saint
--- George Pinto [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Sept. 25, 2005 Why? Because the documentation and miracles submitted to Rome were annulled and rejected more than once on account of the Churchs earlier racial prejudice. Further to my earlier email - apologies to George if it came out too strong. However, an Italian piece (if you can understand it): Il primo indiano ad essere innalzato alla gloria degli altari; José Vaz nacque a Benaulim (Goa) allora possedimento portoghese dellIndia sulla costa del Malabar, il 21 aprile 1651. ... And a French one (almost a literal translation of the above): José Vaz, dont les parents étaient portugais, naquit à Benaulim, à Goa, sur la côte du Malabar, alors possession portugaise ,le 21 avril 1651. ... In Konkani, he is referred to as Padr Jose Vaz. He was born on Portuguese territory, not on British territory. So why anglicise his first name? How does Naik fit in ? Remove the racist blinkers, PLEASE! Cheers, Gabriel. Send instant messages to your online friends http://au.messenger.yahoo.com
Re: [Goanet] Still no native Indian Catholic Saint
--- George Pinto [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Joseph Naik Vaz Institute Berkeley, California Why is it called Joseph Naik Vaz Institute instead of Instituto Pe. José Vaz ? Perhaps you might get recognition faster if you call the man by his true name rather than by his what ought to have been acc to George name. Cheers, Gabriel de Figueiredo. Melbourne. Do you Yahoo!? Messenger 7.0: Free worldwide PC to PC calls http://au.messenger.yahoo.com
Re: [Goanet] Still no native Indian Catholic Saint
It seems to us that Goan Catholics have little or no influence in Rome and in the churches and dioceses they serve. It seems to us that those Catholic churches such as the Portuguese Church and dioceses around the world that Goan Catholics have faithfully served could and should petition the Vatican to be as flexible in its rules for a Goan and other Indian saints as it has for those of other communities and countries. It amazes many of us that while the Catholic Church has bent its rules to give saints to other nations, she continues to withold from India, the mother of great religions and land of saints, the honor of having a single fully native Indian Catholic saint. It amazes us that the churches around the world that benefit from the service of Indian Catholics are silent on this lack of Indian Catholic saints. JNVI WHY do we need a *native* Indian Catholic saint? Will having *our very own saint* enable us to enjoy: 1. Electricity supply that is 24x7 and in dire emergencies gets restored in a few hours. 2. Cable TV that is steady and stable (i.e. no sudden switching of channels, hijacking of one channel by another, channels going on and off like a Christmas tree's lights etc) 3. A newspaper guy who can deliver a Mumbai paper latest by noon and not 6:00 in the evening and sometimes the next day! 4. Computer guys who have every intention of keeping their home service appointments. 5. Streets, roads, highways (and sidewalks) that are free of potholes. 6. A beach that is free of litter and not black. 7. A public library that is systematically run and has an uptodate collection of books, periodicals and papers. 8. Long distance connectivity by bus, train or plane that is cheap and cheerful and available on demand. 9. At least one more petrol station where one can get air pressure checked automatically and not manually. 10. A riverside road in town that is not a micromini roller coaster with umpteen bumps along the way.? If yes, why wait for a *firangi* in Rome to declare XYZ as *our very own saint*? Let's go ahead and declare to the world that XYZ is henceforth *our very own* native Indian Catholic saint. Lawrence
[Goanet] Still no native Indian Catholic Saint
Sept. 25, 2005 Today is the 320th anniversary of the founding of India and the modern Third Worlds first fully native religious Congregation by Blessed Joseph Vaz and his Oratorian companion priests on September 25th, 1685. Blessed Joseph Vaz has the official title of Apostle of Kanara and Sri Lanka for his heroic work in re-founding the missions around Mangalore and the Church in Sri Lanka under Dutch persecution. The process for his Cause for Beatification and Canonization was started in 1713. It took until 1985 for the Church to declare him a Blessed. Why? Because the documentation and miracles submitted to Rome were annulled and rejected more than once on account of the Churchs earlier racial prejudice. It is not enough for Goans to support Church-related activities in India, Portugal, Africa, Pakistan, or in California such as the Indian Pastoral Center of the Diocese of Oakland. We should also be questioning why the Catholic Church has still not canonized a single Goan or Indian candidate while giving saints to many other countries and communities. For more than 500 years, the Goan Catholic community has provided formidable support for the Catholic Church in India and around the world. We have manned and founded churches, missions, religious Congregations, schools, hospitals. As in Mangalore and Sri Lanka, sometimes our priests and missionaries did so under hostile conditions and persecution when no European missionaries were allowed to work there. Why, then, is there still not a single Goan fit to be given the full honors of the altar and given the title of saint? In the year 2000, for the Grand Jubilee, of the founding of Christianity, the Pope and the Vatican declared that they would be righting many injustices caused by the Church. Many saints from various non-European countries were canonized without miracles. For example, the Martyrs of China and Martyrs from Mexico were canonized without required miracles. The Joseph Naik Vaz Institute collected many signatures for a Petition to the Pope, asking that Blessed Joseph Vaz be classed as a Martyr and be canonized for the Grand Jubilee without further miracles. This Petition and the pleas of Indian Bishops like the Archbishop of Calcutta for Blessed Joseph Vaz to be canonized for the Grand Jubilee were denied. Are the rules of Beatification and Canonization so rigid that they are never changed according to circumstances? Quite the contrary. In our own time, we have seen them changed for the causes of Maximilien Kolbe, Mother Teresa, Juan Diego of Mexico, the Martyrs of Mexico, the Martyrs of China, and now for Pope John Paul II. Can Blessed Joseph Vaz be classed as a Martyr? Yes, most definitely. The Joseph Naik Vaz Institute investigated this matter and found out that he is a Martyr because he worked under Dutch persecution. The Prefect of the Congregation of the Saints, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, agreed with those of us who met with him in the year 2000, that he could be classed as a Martyr. He could have been beatified without a miracle decades ago under new rules of Beatification and Canonization. Instead, his Cause was dragged out, miracles submitted for him were rejected, then re-instated again. Could he be canonized without further miracles? If Maximilien Kolbe, the Martyrs of Mexico, and the Martyrs of China were canonized without miracles, why not Blessed Joseph Vaz? It seems to us that Goan Catholics have little or no influence in Rome and in the churches and dioceses they serve. It seems to us that those Catholic churches such as the Portuguese Church and dioceses around the world that Goan Catholics have faithfully served could and should petition the Vatican to be as flexible in its rules for a Goan and other Indian saints as it has for those of other communities and countries. It amazes many of us that while the Catholic Church has bent its rules to give saints to other nations, she continues to withold from India, the mother of great religions and land of saints, the honor of having a single fully native Indian Catholic saint. It amazes us that the churches around the world that benefit from the service of Indian Catholics are silent on this lack of Indian Catholic saints. Joseph Naik Vaz Institute Berkeley, California
