Konkani Catholics Blog

Aug 15: Konkani Patriotic (India) Song

2008-08-15T11:31:00.006+05:30

Ho Mhozo Desh

Konkani Patriotic Song by Wilfy Rebimbus

For Catholics in India August 15 happens to be a day of twin celebration - the Solemnity of the Assumption of Our Lady as well as the day of India's Independence.

Here is a video of Catholics in Mangalore singing a patriotic song in their native Konkani language.

The song is composed by Wilfy Rebimbus (also seen in the video - extreme left) and was sung on the occassion of the 61st Indian Independence Day (August 15, 2008) during the flag hoisting ceremony after the solemn Assumption Mass at St. Joseph's Church, Jeppu, Mangalore, Karnataka, India.

Fr. Franklin Named Karnataka Youth Director

2008-08-01T21:01:00.003+05:30

Fr. Franklin D'Souza Named Karnataka Youth Director

August 1, 2008

Rev. Fr. Franklin Philip D'Souza has been named Secretary to the Karnataka Regional Catholic Bishops' Conference (KRCBC) Youth Commission. He succeeds Fr. Sunny Uppan to that post.

Currently serving as the Joint Secretary of the same commission, Fr. Franklin is also the Director of the Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM), Young Christian Students (YCS) and the Catholic Charismatic Services in the diocese of Shimoga, Karnataka.

The new appointment takes effect August 15, 2008.

Cardinal Toppo and the WYD

2008-07-31T14:57:00.014+05:30

Why Cardinal Toppo Came to the World Youth Day

by Austine J. Crasta

One of the essential parts of the World Youth Day (WYD) programs are the catechetical sessions conducted by Bishops from around the world. Some of the Indian Bishops too, took up the challenge to catechize the youth converged at Sydney this WYD. Among them were Bishop Isidore of Allahabad, Bishop Anil Couto of Jalandhar, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi and I think I also saw Bishop Peter Machado of Belgaum and Bishop Alwyn Baretto of Sindhudurg.

Cardinal Toppo at the Catechesis at St. John's Parish Church, Campbelltown, July 16, 2008.

The 510 member Indian delegation to the WYD was put up on Campbelltown, one of the 500 suburbs of Sydney. And Catechesis was arranged for us right there at St. John's parish Church, Campbelltown on the mornings of 16th, 17th, and 18th along with Mass by the Catechising Bishop and an opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Reading from the text of Pope Benedict's Message for the World Youth Day.

The first of the three Catechesis for us was taken by our own Indian Cardinal Telesphore Toppo. It was a rare privilege to have a Catechising Cardinal when most other groups had only Bishops. But there he was this humble man, more conscious of his roots than of his heights which saw him made the first tribal Cardinal from India, perhaps from Asia, by the late Holy Father of venerable memory Pope John Paul II, the man who initiated the World Youth Day in 1984.

The Cardinal quoted also from the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church given to all WYD pilgrims. A catechetical moment.

Everyone listening in rapt attention.

And Cardinal Toppo had a story to share. Of why he came for the World Youth Day.

If you recall, Cardinal Toppo served two consecutive terms as the President of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) between the years 2004-2007. Few months before the death of then Holy Father Pope John II who passed away on April 2, 2005, Cardinal Toppo, as President of the CBCI went to meet him. During their meeting, the Holy Father, frail in health and struggling with his speech, asked the Cardinal, "How many retired Bishops do you have [in India]"?

Cardinal Toppo taking questions from his listeners

For Cardinal Toppo, that came like a bolt of lightening. We normally only think of the well and the active but not of the sick and the old. But the Pope was thinking of and enquiring even about the retired Bishops in this country during his meeting with the Cardinal who was the then President of the Indian Bishops Conference. And that gesture touched our Cardinal very much.

On another occassion towards the end of 2004 the Cardinal met the same Pope. During their conversation, Pope asked Our Cardinal if he would be there for the upcoming 20th World Youth Day at Cologne, Germany (August 2005). As Cardinal Toppo recalled to us those intense moments of that encounter with the Pope he confessed that up to that point he wasn't thinking of attending the WYD at Cologne. But after the Pope asked him that question, he exclaimed to himself, 'Here is a Pope failing in health, but who is still thinking of his encounter with the youth eight months ahead of the World Youth Day (August 2005) not even knowing whether he would even be able to make it'. Touched by the Pope's concern for the youth, the Cardinal responded 'Yes', he would make it.

Celebrating the Holy Eucharist and delivering the Homily

Just a few months later, Pope John Paul II died. Four months ahead of the World Youth Day he was deeply thinking about. Inspired by that meeting with the 'Father of the World Youth Day', Cardinal Toppo took a resolution and declared to us that as long as he was alive and able, he would make it to every World Youth Day.

And that's why he came.

He deserves this little gesture of gratitude

He came and he stole our hearts with his simplicity, innocence and heart-warming sharings. It was a catechesis of life.

Mangaloreans Follow WYD on EWTN

2008-07-26T08:48:00.006+05:30

Catholic Television Helps Mangaloreans 'Participate' In WYD Programs

July 22, 2008
Joannes Rodrigues, Mangalore.

MANGALORE, India (UCAN) -- Joannes Rodrigues desperately wanted to attend the World Youth Day (WYD) in Australia, but could not raise the funds.

However, the 22-year-old Catholic from Mangalore, southern India, did "participate" in all major WYD events, thanks to Eternal World Television Network (EWTN), a Catholic television channel.

"I had a great desire to attend the World Youth Day in Sydney, but could not afford to go there. However, I compensated for it by watching the programs on EWTN," Rodrigues told UCA News on July 21, a day after the international Catholic event concluded.

Rodrigues, who wrote in an Internet log, or blogged, to publicize the channel locally, said many youngsters viewed the WYD programs on the U.S.-based Catholic broadcasting network.

The channel started beaming to Mangalore homes from Sept. 8, 2007, the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which local Catholics celebrate as a harvest festival. Mangalore diocese paid local cable operators 385,000 rupees (US$8,860 then) for a year's subscription.

Mangalore, a port town and a Catholic stronghold, lies 2,290 kilometers southwest of New Delhi.

Father Victor Vijay Lobo, who brought EWTN to Mangalore, told UCA News on July 22 that the diocese offered the channel to local Christians as a gift. It is "one of the largest Catholic media networks in the world, transmitting programs 24 hours a day, reaching 123 million homes in 140 countries," he said.

The priest noted WYD's top viewers in Mangalore were youths and retired people. In some families women watched the program before their children returned from school in the afternoon. However, most families watched the WYD programs together, he added.

Christiana Lobo, 20, said she watched the vigil with the pope, the Stations of the Cross and the concluding Mass in Sydney. She added that many local youths knew about the live telecast and closely watched the Sydney crowd for a glimpse of their Mangalorean friends on the TV screen. "We could not see them but got a faded view of Indian flags and one or two Indian faces," Lobo said.

The 510-member Indian delegation that left for the July 15-20 international Catholic gathering included seven from Mangalore. Hundreds of thousands of youths flocked to Sydney for WYD events.

Another ardent WYD watcher back home was Lenus Sequeira, 21. He told UCA News he could get into the "mood of the event" by being with the crowd through EWTN. "I missed a chance to go there but I compensated for it through the channel," he said.

Sequeira also said he was thrilled to hear the pope call on youths around the world to unite and give witness to Christ. "I was especially touched by his humility to apologize for the sexual assault on children by some Catholic priests," he added.

Rodrigues, a local member of the Indian Catholic Youth Movement, said he skipped all other programs to stay home to watch "almost all major WYD events" in Sydney. He found the Way of the Cross through the Sydney streets "a very prayerful experience" and said he recorded many events for his friends who missed them.

Reproduced with permission from UCA News (http://www.ucanews.com/)

WYD Video: Tantum Ergo

2008-07-12T12:05:00.002+05:30

Tantum Ergo

Bathurst: Days in the Diocese (July 9-14, 2008)

The beautiful adoration hymn, "Tantum Ergo" (Down in Adoration Falling / Let us bow in Adoration) sung at the benediction of the evening prayers during the "Days in the Diocese" of Bathurst Diocese in Australia prior to the World Youth Day (WYD) at Sydney (July 15-20, 2008) to the accompaniment of the organ.

The words:

Latin text
Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui:
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui:
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.

Genitori, Genitoque
Laus et jubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.
Amen.

WYD, Bathurst: Australian Aborigines

2008-07-12T09:42:00.006+05:30

Here at the "Days in the Diocese" (July 9-14, 2008) in Bathurst Diocese, Australia, we had an opportunity to get to know something about the problem of the Australian Aboringines meaning "first or earliest known, indigenous" (Latin Aborigines, from ab: from, and origo: origin, beginning), the indigenous race that is said to have inhabited the Australian continent since about 60,000 years ago!

These people who regarded themselves as caretakers (not possessors) of the land, were generally nomads, who settled near rivers and moved around according to the convenience of the seasons. They spoke over 500 different languages and had their own beliefs, art, music and culture.

However, today, they face many issues related to Stolen Generations, Health, Education, Crime, Unemployment and housing, Substance abuse and Political representation.

In 1971 by Harold Thomas, an Aboriginal artist designed the Australian Aboriginal flag as a protest flag for the land rights movement of Indigenous Australians. Since then it has become a symbol of the Aboriginal people of Australia. The flag is a yellow circle on a horizontally divided field of black and red.

When the Holy Father comes to Australia next week, a country he previously described as the most secularized of all nations, he will address the problems of the rights of the Austrlian Aborigines.

More Photos Here

Here's the ZENIT story:

Pope's Australia Trip to Address Aborigine Rights

Spokesman Says Journey Is Organizationally Complex

VATICAN CITY, JULY 10, 2008 (Zenit.org).- A Vatican spokesman says the rights of indigenous Australians -- "trampled for centuries" -- will be a key topic during Benedict XVI's trip Down Under for World Youth Day.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, told journalists Wednesday about some of the details of the Pope's July 12-21 trip, his ninth apostolic journey.

The Holy Father will be accompanied by Cardinals Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals; Tarcisio Bertone, his secretary of state; and Agostino Vallini, newly appointed vicar for the Diocese of Rome.

Father Lombardi himself will be a member of the papal entourage.

The Jesuit told Vatican Radio that it is "a complex trip from the organizational point of view."

On Saturday, the Pope will leave Castel Gandolfo by helicopter and go to Fiumicino airport, to begin his trip to Sydney in a B777 Alitalia plane. The flight will last 21 hours, including a one and a half hour technical stop in Darwin, Australia.

Upon arriving Sunday, the Pontiff will rest for a few days in a private retreat center run by Opus Dei.

Cardinal Pell, archbishop of Sydney, will open the WYD celebrations on Tuesday. The following day, the Pope will be received by Governor General Michael Jeffrey and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

He will then go to the Mary MacKillop Memorial and continue on to Rose Bay, where he will be welcomed by a group of young Aborigines before embarking on the "Sydney 2000" vessel for his trip to Barangaroo and his official arrival to the Youth Day celebrations.

Father Lombardi said that "the topic of the aborigines and their rights trampled for centuries will be very present in this trip, both in the Pope's words as well as in the addresses of civil authorities."

Among the various meetings planned, the spokesman highlighted two on Friday, July 18, in St. Mary's Cathedral with representatives of other religions, increasingly present in the country due to Asian immigration, and with members of non-Catholic Christian communities.

"It should be noted that Catholics already outnumber Anglicans in Australia," he said, before reviewing with journalists the rest of the meetings, especially the Vigil and Mass at Randwick Racecourse.

Prior to his departure, the Holy Father will meet with benefactors and volunteers of WYD, Father Lombardi added, inviting them to "'go into the deep' to proclaim the Good News to the whole world."

ZENIT link: http://www.zenit.org/article-23170?l=english

WYD Video: Praise to the Lord

2008-07-12T08:53:00.004+05:30

BATHURST: "Praise to the Lord" Sung to Organ Accompaniment

Just last week, Pope Benedict XVI was saying how the organ has an evangelising role and how it, in its own way it announces the Gospel:

"I have an indelible memory of how -- in the harmony of that wonderful organ, of the choir conducted by Kohlhaufel, and the luminous beauty of the church -- we experienced the joy that comes from God. Not just the 'spark of the gods' of which Schiller speaks, but truly the flame of the Holy Spirit that brought us to feel in our innermost being what we also know from the Gospel of St. John: That he himself is joy. And this joy was communicated to us."

The Pope added how pleased he was that this organ "continues to play and to help people perceive something of the splendor of our faith -- a splendor kindled by the Holy Spirit himself. With it, the organ carries out an evangelizing function, proclaims the Gospel in its own way."

I'm here at the "Days in the Diocese" (9th-14th July, 2008) at Bathurst in Australia, a little over 200 km NW of Sydney, the WYD city. During the morning and evening prayers, I am being treated to the beautiful sound of the Church organ in the Cathedral Church.

I can't wait to share this with all my readers, especially in India, desirous of hearing some organ music.

As Vatican II's constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (no. 120) says, "In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church's ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man's mind to God and to higher things."

Here's the video:

The organ used here is not a pipe organ. Nevertheless, it is an organ and my Indian readers, most of whose churches do not have an organ, will be delighted to hear singing accompanied to its sound.

Also check out the video of the Tantum Ergo sung to organ accompaniment.

Young Indian Vincentians for WYD 2008

2008-07-12T05:53:00.006+05:30

Young Vincentions for WYD 2008

by Jesuvera from Bathurst (Australia)

Accompanying me on my WYD trip from Mumbai to Sydney (via Singapore, Perth) were a group of 10 excited Vincentians from India. Thanks to them I had company all the way till Bathurst.

At Bathurst we parted ways. They went over to Vincentian Family Celebration (FAMVIN WYD) organized by FAMVIN Australia at St Stanislaus College, 9 to 13 July 2008. I came over to the "Days in the Diocese", the diocesan cultural exchange program preceeding the WYD at Sydney during the same days as FAMVIN.

The 10 vincentians from India are part of more than 300 vincentian family members (representatives from the Congregation of the Mission, The Daughters of Charity and the St Vincent de Paul Society) coming from 33 countries - Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Lebanon, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, United States, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

More Pictures Here

Some details here.

WYD: 2 Indians to Serve Pope's Mass

2008-07-12T05:18:00.003+05:30

Chance To Meet Pope, Make New Friends Excites Indian WYD Participants

By Dini Philip

July 10, 2008

NEW DELHI (UCAN) -- Northern Indian delegates to World Youth Day (WYD) 2008 say the high point of their Australian pilgrimage will be meeting the pope.

"We are anxiously waiting to meet the Holy Father," Robin Masih said on July 6, the eve of his departure to the July 15-20 celebration in Sydney, Australia. He told UCA News he was anxious about his first airplane trip.

The 21-year-old delegate from Jalandhar diocese in Punjab state, northern India, expects to learn from the other people going to the WYD celebration from around the world. "I want to know how their life is different from ours," he said. He was taking traditional Punjabi dress with him to perform bhangra, a local dance.

The Indian Church is sending 510 delegates to the event, its largest contingent ever for any overseas Church program, according to Church officials. Masih traveled to Australia with 39 others from various states in northern India. They left from New Delhi. Similar teams left from Chennai in the south, Kolkata in the east and Mumbai in the west.

Preeti, another first-time overseas traveler, said her parents were initially afraid to send her, but later agreed and borrowed money from relatives for the trip. The 19-year-old is one of eight female members of the delegation's Punjabi contingent. She recounted that her parents and relatives all went to the railway station to see her off and cried when she departed for New Delhi. "For us, going abroad is a big thing," she told UCA News.

Like Masih, she looks forward to meeting the pope. "We feel very lucky and privileged to meet the Holy Father and other young people from all over the world," she said, adding that she too would join in the bhangra performance.

Preeti noted that she wanted to bring along some homemade food but the guidelines clearly prohibit this. However, she did bring along photographs of her parents, brothers and sisters to show to her host family in Australia.

The Indian delegates will stay with families in 15 parishes in New Zealand's Auckland diocese and Australia's Bathurst diocese before leaving for Sydney on July 14.

They will interact with local people and participate in activities the hosts organize such as visiting nursing homes, planting trees and learning about local aboriginal cultures. On July 12, they will celebrate a family day that will include sports events and exchanging life experiences with their hosts.

Deepti Kujur, another delegate, is especially happy the pope is to join the youths on July 17, her birthday. "This would be a lifetime gift for me," said the 22 year-old from Bhopal archdiocese in Madhya Pradesh state, central India. She said she wants to make friends from various nations while in Australia, and expects the pilgrimage will help "build leadership quality in us and motivate us to do more for the Church and society."

The only member from another religion in the group that left from New Delhi was Jashleen Kaur. The 27-year-old Sikh works as an office assistant at the Indian bishops' youth commission. What excites her most about the trip is the chance to stay with Catholic families.

The Sikh woman told UCA News her parents are "happy and proud" she is attending "such a great event." She added that she is "very fond" of Christianity and goes to church more often than to a gurudwara, or Sikh temple.

Kaur said the Indian delegates would attend the program in the traditional local dress of their respective regions and carry the national flag.

Another excited member in the group was Sapna Robert, one of two Indians selected to serve at the papal Mass. "It is the best I could get, to be near the pope while he celebrates Mass," said the 25-year-old general secretary of the Indian Catholic Youth Movement. The other Indian scheduled to serve at that Mass is Sajish Jose, the movement's president.

Reproduced with permission from UCA News (www.ucanews.com)

WYD: Interview with Rakesh Singh, India

2008-07-12T04:46:00.004+05:30

WYD Delegation Leader Promotes Young Catholic Villagers

July 9, 2008

Rakesh Singh, India

NEW DELHI (UCAN) -- The young tribal man who is leading India's 510-member delegation to the World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, says village youth should have opportunities to develop themselves.

Rakesh Singh, 27, comes from Krishnachandrapur, a village in Orissa state's Mayurbhanj district, about 1,500 kilometers southeast of New Delhi. In 1999, Hindu extremists brutally murdered Graham Stuart Staines, an Australian missioner who ran a leprosy hospital in the district, and his two minor sons.

Singh, who belongs to the Bhumij tribal group, says those murders became "a litmus test" for his leadership skills in a predominantly Hindu milieu. Later, he was elected to head the Indian Catholic Youth Movement, under the Indian bishops' conference, and began to notice "a big gap in opportunities" between village and city residents.

After his two-year term, the bishops entrusted him the job of coordinating preparations for Indian youth to attend the World Youth Day 2008 celebration. His efforts in the past year have ensured that India could send its largest contingent to the international event the Church organizes every two or three years. According to Singh, a majority of the Indian delegates are from rural areas.

The youth leader spoke with UCA News on July 1, as he was getting ready to travel to Sydney to attend the July 15-20 event. The interview follows:

UCA NEWS: What is the significance of this World Youth Day for you?

RAKESH SINGH: I attended the earlier World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, in 2005. Only 250 people from India attended that event. This time, 510 Indians, some 400 of them young people, are attending.
The event is very important for the whole Indian Church. We want to gain experience to conduct similar programs in our country. Who knows, India may hold the World Youth Day after 20 years? We will then have some people who have attended the international event.

For this World Youth Day, we started preparation a year ago. We wanted to reach out to all 160 dioceses in the country.

We launched the preparation on Palm Sunday in 2007. While launching it, we asked young people to do something for society. We also asked young people to undertake something in their parishes such as educating parishioners about the need to eradicate poverty. We held a number of conferences, road shows and T-shirt campaigns, so things were clear from the beginning. We got a good response. We have been able to reach out to people where opportunities are comparatively less.

UCA NEWS: How will the World Youth Day help the Indian youth?

RAKESH SINGH: It will expose our youth, most of them village-based, to the big world. They will mingle with youths from other countries. One of the days in our program in Australia is assigned for social work, when people will be working in the streets, planting trees, cleaning a garden or a cemetery. They may also go to institutions like old-age homes, and spend time with local people. This will broaden their mind. I hope they will understand the dignity of labor, which most developed nations respect. In India, we look down on menial jobs. Sharing of expectations by our participants has convinced us that the exposure is the kind of program they really need.

UCA NEWS: How many delegates are from villages?

RAKESH SINGH: We have about 60 percent from villages. The intentions are different. Rich people want to go overseas on holiday, but only a few are ready to go on a pilgrimage. Young villagers if given opportunities will prove themselves. Many a time the Church officials look for only experienced hands to work and solve problems. But I feel not only experience but our outlook and relations with others also matter in solving problems. People with experience will not be able to solve problem if they lack good relations and clear thinking. So there are a lot of young people who think clearly and are willing to take up responsibility. I am not saying the Church has to dump all responsibilities on young people. But the Church has to realize their capacity and believe in them.

UCA NEWS: Has your own background played any role in this focus on rural areas?

RAKESH SINGH: I was born and bought up in a small village in Orissa. The school was 16 kilometers away. My mother, a teacher who studied in Kolkata, knew Blessed Mother Teresa (of Kolkata). So my mother wanted me to take up social work. It's because of God's grace that I got these opportunities. But there are lots of people who do not have the platform and opportunities. There are lots of facilities and opportunities in cities, which I never knew when I was in my village. So if such facilities are made available to village people, they will also grow. There is a big gap of opportunities between village and city people.

UCA NEWS: With your village background, how did you become a leader at the national level?

Even during school days, I wanted to become a leader. During my university days, I stood for college president. I was the only Christian student among the college's some 5,000 students, who came from different religions. The election was also a litmus test of my acceptance as a Christian, as that was the time when Graham Staines was killed.

A year later, I lost my father and I went through a lot of problems. Then I asked my mom's permission to volunteer at the national youth office in New Delhi. I was the eldest of three sons. She told me that she would love that. None of her sons has become a priest, so she would love me working for the Church as a lay volunteer.

I was more involved in activism during 2001-2003. In 2004, I came to the Indian Catholic Youth Movement as a representative from Orissa region. There I was elected the national president.

The work in New Delhi gave me a lot of opportunities to learn. During 2004-2006, I was elected the Asian president of the food sovereignty commission of the international Catholic organization working for rural youth. I was also involved in the Catholic students' movements in India.

UCA NEWS: Can you tell us more about your village?

RAKESH SINGH: Our Krishnachandrapur parish in Mayurbhanj district has some 350 Catholic families. It is the same district where Graham Staines cared for leprosy patients. Father Arul Doss of Balasore diocese was also killed in the same district that year. [Editor's note: Staines was killed in neighboring Keonjhar district.] Our state has witnessed many atrocities against Christians.

The killings of Staines and others saddened me because such things should not have happened in a secular nation. On the other hand, Christians also should be blamed. We are not able to express our faith well, especially to those who suspect us. We have not helped people understand our work. There is a communication gap among various religions. There is a lack of dialogue. My experience is that how we relate with others matters a lot.

Christians in India are a closed community. We should come out and express ourselves. We should have friends from other religions. We should also accept others.

Reproduced with permission from UCA News (www.ucanews.com)

WYD 2008 Anthem: Receive the Power

2008-07-07T14:22:00.002+05:30

World Youth Day (WYD) 2008: Official Anthem

Receive the Power - Video & Lyrics

Lyrics - Receive the Power

Verse 1
Every nation, every tribe,
come together to worship You.
In Your presence we delight,
we will follow to the ends of the earth.

Chorus
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Receive the Power, from the Holy Spirit!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Receive the Power to be a light unto the world!

Verse 2
As Your Spirit calls to rise
we will answer and do Your Will.
We'll forever testify
of Your mercy and unfailing love.

Chorus
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Receive the Power, from the Holy Spirit!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Receive the Power to be a light unto the world!

Bridge
Lamb of God, we worship You,
Holy One, we worship You,
Bread of Life, we worship You,
Emmanuel, we worship You.
Lamb of God, we worship You,
Holy One, we worship You,
Bread of Life, we worship You,
Emmanuel, we will sing forever.

Chorus
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Receive the Power, from the Holy Spirit!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Receive the Power to be a light unto the world

VIDEO: WYD 2008 Promo

2008-07-07T14:03:00.004+05:30

World Youth Day (WYD) 2008, Sydney, Australia

Promo Videos - Parts I & II

Part - I

Part - II

VATICAN: Oswald Gracias Made Cardinal

2007-11-27T12:25:00.000+05:30

Cardinals From 14 Countries, Including India, Receive Red Hat From Pope

By Gerard O'Connell, Special Correspondent in Rome

(Archbishop Oswald Gracias Receiving the Cardinal's biretta (hat) from the Holy Father Benedict XVI)

VATICAN CITY, November 26, 2007 (UCAN): Pope Benedict XVI placed the red beretta on the head of Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, in St. Peter's Basilica just before midday on Saturday November 24, making him the 10th Indian cardinal in history.

In all, the 80-year-old pope created 23 cardinals from 14 countries in his second consistory: 13 from Europe, four from Latin America, two from Africa, two from Asia (India and Iraq) and two from North America (excluding Mexico). But only 18 of the 23 are cardinal-electors, under the age of 80, with the right to vote in a papal election.

In his homily, after the liturgy of the word and before conferring the red hats, the theologian-pope said the composition of the College of Cardinals, which now has 201 members from 70 countries, "reflects well the universality, the catholicity of the Church." The new cardinals had served the Church faithfully over many years, and were now "called to even greater responsibility, in the closest communion with the bishop of Rome," he added.

Pope Benedict observed that the communities the new cardinals represent face various trials and challenges. He made particular mention of looking "with apprehension and affection" to the Christian communities in Iraq, which are "experiencing in their own flesh the dramatic consequences of an ongoing war" and living in "a very fragile and delicate political situation."

The pope said he wanted "to express in a concrete way my spiritual closeness and my affect for those populations" by making Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly of the Chaldean Church, who heads the largest Christian community in Iraq, a cardinal.

His words provoked thunderous applause in St. Peter's Basilica. Everyone clapped again, and someone waved an Iraqi flag, when he placed the specially designed round, black hat with a broad red band on the head of the 80-year-old patriarch instead of the red beretta.

This came after the homily, and after the new cardinals made a profession of faith and took the oath of loyalty and obedience to the pope and his successors. They then went up to the pope, one by one, and knelt before him as he placed the hat signifying the office and dignity of cardinal on the head of each.

The congregation of 9,000 in the brightly lit basilica included more than 1,000 Asians, several hundred of them Indians. They applauded loudly when Pope Benedict gave the red beretta to Cardinal Gracias making him a member of the select group of 120 cardinal-electors.

Many had come from India especially for the occasion, mostly relatives and friends of the new cardinal, but the vast majority of Indians present were clergy, Religious, novices and seminarians working or studying in Rome.

Two other Indian cardinals -- Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, archbishop of Ranchi and president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, were seated among the 143 scarlet-robed cardinals from 70 countries in front of the basilica's high altar. Other Asian cardinals were present from China (Hong Kong), Japan, Korea the Philippines and Vietnam. About 50 cardinals did not attend for reasons of health or advanced age.

Cardinal Gracias, smiling broadly, briefly thanked the pope for this great honor and responsibility.

The pope, as bishop of Rome, traditionally assigns a titular church in his diocese to each new cardinal. He gave Cardinal Gracias the Church of San Paolo della Croce a "Corviale."

That same afternoon, following another old tradition, many thousands went to the Vatican to greet the new cardinals individually. The Indians and many others greeted Cardinal Gracias in the Hall of Blessings.

The following day, Sunday Nov. 25, Pope Benedict led Mass in St Peter's Basilica with the new cardinals as concelebrants and gave each the cardinal's ring, described by the Vatican as "the sign of dignity, pastoral care and the most solid communion with the See of Peter."

After urging them to proclaim Christ "with humility and without arrogance or pride" to all humanity, he reminded them that their "first and principal mission" is to "pray for peace and unity" so the Church may be "solid and compact" and "a sign and instrument of unity for the whole human race."

END
Reproduced by Konkani Catholics with permission from UCA News (http://www.ucanews.com/)

Basic Catholic Konkani Prayers

2007-10-22T21:26:00.000+05:30

Basic Catholic Konkani Prayers

Notes for Pronunciation

O-------> o ------> otmo, ojeap, sot, mon, dhon.
A-------> a --------> amchea, asa, rat, tan, kan.
X ------> sh -------> xit, xikxa, odheokx, dikxa, xok.
T-------> t --------> ton, toddov, taka, vat, nontor.
TH -----> th -------> thor, orth, thir, svarth, thoravoll.
TT------> tt -------> vatt, dixtt, petto, grotto, vantto.
TTH ----> tth ------> tthokki, tthev, patth, goxtth, duxtthi.
T’T ----> t’t ------> pot’to, ut’tim, bat’tis, ut’tor, at’tam.
D-------> d --------> gado,duddu, doial, dudh, desvat.
DH -----> dh -------> dhikkar, dhoxi, dhoni, dhinvas, budhvont.
DD------> dd -------> guddo, paddo, kudd, nadd, divodd.
DDH ----> ddh ------> donddhovnni, ddhokhai,
D’D ----> d’d ------> ud’dhar, chod’dor, god’dar,
L ------> l --------> palo, ulo, khelo, kholo, melo.
LL ----> ll -------> pollo, dollo, bhollo, mollem, dhallo.
L’L ----> l’l ------> il’lem, mellul’lem, sangul’lem, uloil’lem, kolloil’lem.
NN -----> nn -------> khann, jevonn, makhnni, dekhnni, vakhann’nni.
IO -----> io (yo)---> iogi, iogdan, kariokrom, ioxodham, iojon.
IA -----> ia (ya) --> toiari, iazok, vidiarthi, doia, monniari, Somia.
IE -----> ie (ye)---> doien, nitollkaien, sosaien, korunnaien, i
IU -----> iu (yu)---> iug, koli-iug, iuvok, iuvozonn, iugantor.

Challis Konknni Magnnim
(40 Konkani Prayers)

(Mangalorean Konkani Prayers in Roman Script)
Transliterated by Ancy Salvadore D'Souza (Ancy Paladka)
Verified by Fr. Ronald Serrao

1. Khursacho Ghurt

Bapache, + ani Putache, ani Povitr Otmeache Nanvim. Amen.

2. Santa Khursachi Kuru

Santa Khursache + khurven, nivar amkam + amchea Deva, amchea + dusmanantlem. Bapache, + ani Putache, ani Povitr Otmeache Nanvim. Amen.

3. Onond Bapak

Onond Bapak, ani Putak, ani Povitr Otmeak; zoso adim, tosoch atam, ani sodam sorvotam. Amen.

4. Somiachem Magnnem

Amchea Bapa, sorgincha, Tujem Nanv povitr zanv, Tujem raz amkam ienv, Tuji khuxi sorgar zata, toxi sonvsarant zanv.
Amcho dispotto gras aiz amkam di, ani ami amcher chukleleank bhogsitanv, toxem amchim patkam bhogos. Ani amkam tallnnet poddonk dinv naka, punn vaittantlim amkam nivar. Amen.

5. Bhoddveacho Noman

Noman Morie, kurpen bhorul’le, Somi tuje sangata, striiam bhitor tum sodenv, ani sodenvi foll, tuje kuxichem, Jezu.
Santa Morie, Devache Maie, ama papiiam khatir vinoti kor, atam ani amchea mornache kallim. Amen.

6. Apostolanchim Sotman'tam

Sotman’tam Devak, Sorv-podvedara Bapak, sorga ani prithumichea Rochnarak; ani Jezu Kristak, Tacha ekleach Putak, amchea Somiak. To Povitr Otmea vorvim gorbhim sombhovlo, Anvkvar Morie thavn zolmalo. Pons Pilata khal Tannem koxtt sosle, Taka Khursar zoddlo, To melo, ani Taka nikepilo. To mel’leam modhem denvlo, Tisrea disa mel'leantlo jivont zalo. Sorgar choddlo, Sorv- podvedar Deva Bapachea ujveak bosla. Thoim thavn jiveam ani mel’leanchi mun’subi korunk ietolo. Sotman’tam Povitr Otmeak, Katholik Povitr Sobhek, bhoktancho ektar, patkanchem bhogsonnem, kuddichem jivontponn, sasnnachem jivit. Amen.

7. Bhavarthachem Vidhan

Eh mhojea Deva, Tum sorv Sotevont, Tujean fottounk nozo; Tum sorv Zannar, Tujean fottvon poddonk nozo. Dekun, Bhagevont Igorzmate marifat, Tunvem xikounchim sorv sotam, hanv thir sotman’tam.

8. Bhorvonseachem Vidhan

Eh mhojea Deva, Tum sorv Podvedar ani Kakulldar, ani Tujem Utor Tum palltai. Dekun, hea sonvsarant, mhojea patkanchem bogsannem, bori jinni jiieunk Tuji Kurpa, ani melea uprant sorginchem sukh, Tum mhaka ditoloi mhonn, Tujer hanv thir bhorvonso dovortam.

9. Mogachem Vidhan

Eh mhojea Deva, Tum sorv boro, ani sorv mog Tuka favo. Dekun, sogllea mhojea kallzan, ani somestim vostum pras chodd, hanv Tuzo mog kortam. Tujea moga pasot, mhozo hanvem kel’lea bori, peleacho-i hanv mog kortam, ani mhaka dukhoil’leank bhogsitam.

10. Dukhichem Vidhan

Eh mhojea Deva, hanvem vaitt adharun ani borem soddun kel’lim, sorv mhojim patkam hanv roddtam, ani tanchem bhogsannem magtam. Kiteak tanche vorvim, Tuji kotthinn xikxa mhaka favo zali, ani mhojea mogalla, Soddvonndarak, Jezu Kristak, hanvem Khursar marlo, ani bhov korun, Tuka, itlea borea, ani sorv mog favo zal’lea Devak, hanvem okman kelo.

Tuje Kurpen, ani mukhar patok korina mhonn, mhojea patkam khatir prachit kortolom mhonn, ani patkanche somoie chukoitam mhonn, khonddit nichev monant dhortam. Amchea Somia Jezu Kristacha, koxttam ani mornachea puneam vorvim, Sorvespora mhoji kakut kor.

11. Avmori

Eklo: Somiachea bhoddvean Moriek izbi haddli,
Sorv: Ani Povitr Otmea vorvim ti gorbhest zali.
Noman Morie...

Eklo: Obhlle! Somiachi chakorn,
Sorv: Tujea Sobda pormannem, mhoje thoim zanv.
Noman Morie...

Eklo: Ani Devacho Put monis zalo,
Sorv: Ani amche modhem jielo.
Noman Morie...

Eklo: Bhagevonti Devache Maie, ama pasot vinoti kor,
Sorv: Kristachea bhasavnneank ami favo zaunche khatir.

Prarthum-iam

Eh Somia, bhoddveache izbe vorvim Tujea Putan, Kristan, mon’xaponn ghetul’lem ami zannam zaleanv: Tacha koxttam ani Khursa vorvim, jivontponnachea onondak ami pavaxem, Tuji Kurpa amchea ontoskornamni vot mhonn, ami magtanv, teach Krista amchea Somia marifat. Amen.
Onond Bapak... (3)

12. Sorgache Rannie (Paskanchea kallar)

Eklo: Sorgache Rannie, ul’las pav, Sorvesporak zoi, zoi ! (Al'leluia)
Sorv: Kiteak zaka tum vavovnk favo zal’li-i, Sorvesporak zoi, zoi ! (Al'leluia)

Eklo: To Apnnem sangul’lea bori jivont zala, Sorvesporak zoi, zoi ! (Al'leluia)
Sorv: Ama pasot Deva lagim mag, Sorvesporak zoi, zoi ! (Al'leluia)

Eklo: Sontos ani ul’las pav, Anvkvari Morie, Sorvesporak zoi, zoi ! (Al'leluia)
Sorv: Kiteak Somi khoroch jivont zala, Sorvesporak zoi, zoi ! (Al'leluia)

Prarthum-Iam

Eh Deva, Tujea Puta amchea Somia Jezu Kristachea jivontponna vorvim, sonvsar sontosaunk Tunvem doia keli-I; Tache Maie, Anvkvar Morie marifat, sasnnache jinniecho sontos, amkam labhaso kor mhonn ami magtanv. Teach Krista, amcha Somia marifat. Amen.

13. Rakonn Bhoddveak Magnnem

Deva gelea bhoddvea, mhojea raknnea, sorginche doien mhaka dila tuje taben, mhoji mot uzvaddai, mhaka rak, samball ani choloi. Amen.

14. Sorul'lea Bhavartheam Pasot Magnnem

Sasnnacho vixev di tankam eh Somia, ani nirontor prokas tancher fankondi. Somadhanant te vixev ghevundit. Amen.

15.Mhojea Deva

Mhojea Deva, mhojea Saiba, hanv Tujea paiam’nk poddtam, hanv Tuka orgam ditam, ontoskornim nomoskar kortam, vhodd Tujo upkar man’tam, kiteak Tunvem mhaka rochloi mhonn, niz kristanv keloi mhonn; aiz porean samballoi mhonn, zoxi bori rat dili-i, toso boro dis di Saiba (zoso boro dis diloi, toxi bori rat di Saiba) mhozo otmo, mhoji kudd, Tujea hatant ditam. Mhojim chintam, mhoje sobd, mhoje aichea disache (ratiche) koxtt ani korneo, Tuka somorpitam, Tujea vhodda manak mhojea patkanchea farikponnak.

Mhojea Jezu, Tujea Khursachea, koxttancha, ani mornacha puneam pasot, bhogsi mhojim somest patkam, mhoji patkeachi kakut kor. Deva, Povitr Otmea, di Saiba, Tuji Kurpa, aichea disa (rati) patkant hanvem poddona zauncheak. Tuje upodes samballunk, mhoje kaide pallunk, mhoji patkeachi kakut kor, mhaka patkeak bhogsi.

16. Hanv Patki

Hanv patki, Sorv-podvedar Devak, ani tumkam bhavam-bhoinnimno, mhozo guneanv ucharun sangtam, monan chintun ani tonddan ucharun, vaitt adharun ani borem soddun, hanvem zaitim patkam keleant. (hordeak marun) Ho mhozo opradh, ho mhozo opradh, ho mhozo bhov vhodd opradh. Hea pasot Bhagevont sodanch-Anvkvar Moriek, soglleam Dev-dutank ani bhoktank, ani tumkam bhavam-bhoinnimno, mhoje khatir amchea Sorvespora Deva lagim, vonoti korat mhonn, prarthun magtam.

17. Noman Rannie

Noman Rannie, kakutiche Maie, noman amchea jiva, amruta ani bhorvonxa, tuka ami ulo martanv, ami pordexi Evechim ballkam. Hea dukhachea konddant astam, askar-huskar soddun, ami tuka rudan kortanv. Tor tum amche xekaie, te tuje kakutiche dolle amche voir porti. Ani hea pordexea uprant, tuje kuxichem sodemnvi foll Jezuk amkam dakhoi, eh doialli, eh mogalli, eh dulobi Anvkvari Morie.

Eklo: Bhagevonti Devache Maie, ama pasot vinoti kor,
Sorv: Kristachea bhasavnneank ami favo zaunche khatir.

18. Nimanneo Char Vostu

Morn, Zoddti, Iemkondd, ani Sorg.

19. Devache Upodes

Devache Upodes 10.
1-lo: Eka niza Devak man di.
2-ro: Devachem Nanv vearth kaddi naka.
3-ro: Aitar-sont bhagevontponnim samball.
4-to: Mai-bapak man di.
5-vo: Jivexim mari naka.
6-vo: Produvar kori naka.
7-vo: Chori naka.
8-vo: Fott-saks sanga naka.
9-vo: Peleache striiechi axa kori naka.
10-vo: Peleachea vostunchi axa kori naka.

20. Igorjeche Upodes

Igorjeche Upodes 5.
1-lo: Aitar-sonta mis aikonchem, ani vavr kori nastana ravunchem.
2-ro: Igorz-maten nomiarul’lea disamni jinzvar korcho, ani mas khainastana ravunchem.
3-ro: Vorsak ek pavttim punn-i kumsar zavunchem.
4-to: Paskanchea vellar punn-i Krist-Prosad ghevuncho.
5-vo: Igorjechea, ani tichea monniareanchea gorzank pavuchem.

Imprimatur:

Most Rev Aloysius Paul D'Souza
†Bishop of Managalore
10th August 2004
Feast of St Lawrence, Martyr and Deacon

Oswald Gracias Named Cardinal

2007-10-17T17:28:00.000+05:30

'Simple, Approachable' Prelate Gets Red Hat

MUMBAI, India, October 17, 2007 (UCAN) -- India's Archbishop Oswald Gracias, whom Pope Benedict appointed a cardinal on Oct. 17, has had a fast rise in Church ranks.

The 62-year-old cardinal-elect currently serves as archbishop of Bombay, the Indian Church territory with the largest number of Catholics.

The only Asian among the 23 newly appointed cardinals came to this archdiocese after its former archbishop, Cardinal Ivan Dias, moved to Rome last year to serve as prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. Bombay is the former name for Mumbai, India's commercial capital, 1,410 kilometers southwest of New Delhi.

Previously the cardinal-elect served six years as archbishop of Agra, the oldest diocese in northern India. He started his episcopate as auxiliary bishop of Bombay in 1997.

For several years now, the Church in India has banked on the prelate to solve many vexing problems. Church people say they find the newly appointed cardinal one of the "most simple and approachable" Church leaders in India.

In 2006, at the behest of the Vatican, Cardinal Gracias used his diplomatic skills to bring unity in a religious congregation based in Goa, western India, that had split into two groups in 1977.

Recently, he challenged the Indian government over its policy on Special Economic Zones. The prelate wanted the government to consult local people before implementing projects that affect them. He urged priests and laypeople to join public rallies and lobby with others to save the common man from the ill effects of such policies.

People who have worked with Cardinal-elect Gracias say he "never says no" to any request, even in difficult situations. They describe him as having a way with words and a manner of conveying them laced with affection that puts people at ease, even though their problem may not have been solved for whatever reasons. His admirers say his "bright face is always lit up with a smile."

Bernadine Jackson, the prelate's secretary when he was in Agra, told UCA News she found him "the most simple" to work with. "We wished he remained in our archdiocese for a long time, but that was not be," she remarked, adding that laypeople found him "very approachable."

He has shouldered several major responsibilities in the Indian Church.

Currently the cardinal-elect heads the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), the national body of the country's Latin-rite prelates.

Earlier he served as secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), the national body for prelates of all three rites -- two Oriental and the Latin --in the country. At present, he chairs the CBCI Commission for Social Communications and its National Institute of Social Communications, Research and Training. Meanwhile, he is ecclesiastical adviser to the Indian Catholic Press Association.

Cardinal-elect Gracias was president of the Canon Law Society of India twice, 1987-1991 and 1993-1997. He has served as consultor for the CBCI Doctrinal Committee and for the CCBI Commission for Interpretation of Legislative Texts (1992-1997).

Now, he is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts.

The CCBI plenary elected the prelate to attend the XII Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church," scheduled for October 2008 in Rome.

He teaches canon law at Pius X Seminary in Mumbai and at the pontifical seminary in Pune, and his book Conciliation Code offers useful advice to solve many problems the Church faces.

Cardinal-elect Gracias was born on Dec. 24, 1944, in Mahim, Mumbai. He completed his seminary training at St. Pius College in Goregaon, Mumbai, and was ordained a priest on Dec. 20, 1970. After a short stint as chancellor of Jamshedpur diocese and secretary to its bishop, he returned to Mumbai. From 1977 to 1981 he studied in Rome, earning a doctorate in canon law and a diploma in jurisprudence during this period.

On his return to Mumbai, he was appointed secretary to the archbishop. A year later, he was made the archdiocesan chancellor.

When appointed auxiliary bishop, he chose as his motto: "To Reconcile All Things in Christ." He became Agra archbishop just three years later and archbishop of Bombay on Oct. 14, 2006.

Bombay archdiocese has 509,286 Catholics spread over 98 parishes in three districts. Approximately 750 priests and 1,530 nuns serve in the archdiocese.

Bio Data

Date of Birth: December 24, 1944 at Mumbai
Parents: Jervis and Aduzinda Gracias
Ordained Priest: December 20, 1970
Ordained Bishop: September 16, 1997
Installed Abp of Agra: November 23, 2000
Appointed Abp of Bombay: October 14, 2006
Installed Abp of Bombay: December 14, 2006
Edu. Qualifications: B.A. at St Xavier's College, Ranchi
Doctor of Canon Law, Urban University, Rome
Diploma in Jurisprudence, Gregorian University, Rome

Assignments:

1971-1976 - Secretary & Chancellor, Diocese of Jamshedpur
1977-1981 - Rome, studies in Canon Law
1982-1986 - Secretary to Archbishop of Bombay
1982-1997 - Chancellor, Archdiocese of Bombay
1988-1998 - Judicial Vicar, Archdiocese of Bombay
1997, Jun 28 - Appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay
1998-2000 - Vicar General, Archdiocese of Bombay
2000, Sep 07 - Appointed Archbishop of Agra
1998-2002 - Secretary General, C.B.C.I
2005-Present - President, Conference of Catholic Bishops of India

Other Assignments:

1987-1991 - President, Canon Law Society of India
1988-1998 - Consultor, C.C.B.I. Canon Law Commission
1990-1995 - Consultor, Doctrinal Commission, C.B.C.I.
1993-1997 - President, Canon Law Society of India
1996-Present - Consultor, Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Rome
1998-2005 - Chairman, C.C.B.I. Commission for Legislative Texts
2001-Present - Vice Chairman, Vox Clara Committee, Congregation of Sacraments, Rome
2002-Present - Chairman, C.B.C.I. Commission for Social Commun. & Chairman, NISCORT
2002-Present - Chairman, C.B.C.I. Commission for Law and Public litigation

Courtesy: UCAN News (http://www.ucanews.com/) & Press Release

Goa Going The Las Vegas Way?

2007-10-15T15:05:00.000+05:30

Goa Going The Las Vegas Way?

By Fr. Desmond de Sousa CSsR, SAR NEWS

PANAJI, October 15, 2007 (SAR NEWS) -- Concerned citizens and non-governmental groups (NGOs) under the banner of Anti-Casino Movement (ACM) came together in Goa last week against the Goa government’s ill-designed policies of promoting gambling through casinos.

They demanded an immediate ban on all casinos, both on and off shore. They met to chalk out a plan of action against gambling being promoted by the government.

“If matka is being prohibited, so also should casinos, as both are forms of gambling and a social evil for Goan society,” protested Sabina Martins of the Bailancho Saad (Women’s Voice).

The Movement voiced serious apprehension against the sanctioning of four more licences for offshore casinos from among the 22 application already received. There are already 11-odd casinos operating in various five-star hotels. The increasing number of gambling outlets, the ACM alleges, would give rise to law and order problems and their impact would have a harmful effect on Goan society, especially on the lives of its women, youth and children.

“The State government of aam admi (common man) should also pay attention to the aam aaurat (common woman) who would be worst hit by the menace of gambling,” according to Sabina Martins.

She went on to demand, “Since the Regional Plan 2011 has been scrapped, so also should casinos be scrapped.” The ACM opined that if the government is considering the revenue benefits, casinos should not be tapped because it is ill-gotten money. It further ridiculed the amendments to the Goa Gambling Act and a deliberate omission of a definition of offshore casinos.

The Las Vegas way

State governments in the United States are pushing gambling to raise revenue from lotteries and casinos, reported the New York Times in May 2003. It calculates that since the easing of gambling laws in 1991, the amount of money wagered has skyrocketed from $27 billion to $68 billion.

Comments economist Don Phares of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, “Gambling provides almost no economic benefits to anyone but the owners and the States.”

Experts on gambling addiction warn that gambling is dangerous because it offers a very fast and highly stimulating rate of risk while playing.

Stephen Crosby of the Boston Globe in July 2003, searched for why States love gamblers? His research shows that in 1972, 45% of the revenues were paid out in prizes. In 2003, this figure slid down to 21%. “So gambling is now done in a way which takes an extraordinary amount of money from people who probably can’t afford it and returns a declining share of that to local aid.”

In the fiscal year 2002, he noted, Massachusetts citizens spent over $4 billion on lottery, or $658 for each man, woman or child in the State. The national per capita average is around $150.

In 1978, only the State of Nevada had casinos. Now, more than 25 States have some form of casino gambling. So on the 25th anniversary of New Jersey State’s first casino, it was estimated that the State casinos brought in $7 billion in capital investment, created more than 45,000 jobs and boosted State revenues.

Yet unemployment in the zone around the casinos averaged 11.4%, well above the State average of 5.4%. Worse, the number of purse-snatchings, assaults, rapes, robberies and murders skyrocketed after the casinos opened. FBI statistics indicate the crime rate per 1000 residents went from 134.3 in 1978 to a peak of 450.3 ten years later.

Why work for a salary, when there are easy pickings from casino patrons, appears to be the logic of the unemployed criminals? Canadian researchers reveal that the poorer class spends more in gambling than the others.

MGM Mirage, the world’s biggest casino company plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars, establishing itself as a dominant force, by building smaller versions of its Las Vegas casinos.
Goa’s economy and the Anti-Casino Movement

Channel News Asia reported that it is the high appetite for risk in gambling that drives the economy of Goa. It is the only State in India to have legalised casinos. The argument in favour of casinos is that the fortunes of Las Vegas have been built on gambling. Over the last five years Macau’s economy has turned around thanks to the large scale gambling casinos. Even straitlaced Singapore has decided to legalise casinos.

So Goa should cash in on the human propensity to take high risk and enable people to go safely to indulge in their passion for gambling at casinos, to boost the State’s revenues. It is better to keep the revenue in India, rather than gamblers with money spending it in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. No only will the exchequer profit, but a lot of the crime associated with illicit gambling will disappear overnight when gambling becomes legitimate.

The Anti-Casino Movement can propagate the story of Indian folklore about prince Yudhishthir who lost his wealth, kingdom and wife Draupadi to gambling debts. Like all other addictions -- tobacco, liquor, drugs -- gambling can also easily become an addiction. Instead of giving their money for the welfare of the family, people gamble away their salaries, reducing their families to penury.

Will legalising casino gambling ensure that gamblers will stop short of squandering a substantial part of their earnings, month after month on gambling? There are many cases of people going broke as a result of gambling and ruining their families, often causing broken homes and suicides. Research shows that gambling related suicides are on the rise. Will the government of Goa be aiding and abetting these social evils by legalizing gambling casinos?

INDIA: Interview with Opus Dei Spokesman

2007-10-09T15:33:00.000+05:30

Be Another Christ In Society: Opus Dei

October 9, 2007

BANGALORE, Karnataka (SAR NEWS) -- The 5th anniversary of the canonisation of Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei, was celebrated October 6. Opus Dei aims at helping people sanctifying their work and way of life to live their founder’s vision, who has said, “There is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it.”

Adolf Washington spoke to the Kevin de Souza, media spokesperson for Opus Dei in India.

Excerpts from the interview:

SAR News: It was only when ‘The Da Vinci Code’ controversy kicked up, a lot of lay people started getting curious about Opus Dei. Why is there nothing much heard about it?

Kevin: It’s true that Opus Dei came into the limelight with The Da Vinci Code. That controversy in fact proved to be very useful because it helped many to understand something of key importance. Opus Dei is made up of individuals who have made a personal commitment. Each faithful of the prelature has to strive to live the spirit of Opus Dei in his or her own circumstances: a mother who takes good care of her children; a taxi driver who strives to be honest with his clients; a doctor who lives up to the Hippocratic Oath, and so on. They are not exactly material for prime time news or front-page headlines. They are just ordinary people who live with the deep conviction that if Christ reigns in their life, they will attract others to Him.

Opus Dei in India is still very young. There are a handful of members in Delhi and Mumbai. As other Catholics, they work to earn their living. In their spare time, they may meet up with a friend or organise a class on Christian doctrine. In countries where activities of Opus Dei were initiated earlier, it is easier to “hear” about Opus Dei because of educational and social projects (schools, hospitals, technical training centres, universities, etc.) that have been established through the initiative of individual members and the co-operators along with their friends.

SAR News: There have been movements against the Opus Dei portraying it as fundamentalist and that which propagates rigid penance?

Kevin: Some people attach the label ‘fundamentalist’ to anyone who is faithful to the Church. However, it has a connotation of fanaticism that, can under no circumstances, be applied neither to the Church nor to any institution of the Church and therefore not to Opus Dei. Fanaticism is opposed to charity because it closes itself to the reasons of the others. St. Josemaría Escrivá, the founder of Opus Dei, used to say that we could never be fanatics “not even of Opus Dei”.

Regarding the second part of your question, if you asked any person in contact with Opus Dei what penance he or she has been encouraged to do, the answer would be: to fulfil one’s work conscientiously, to be punctual, to treat those around one kindly, to be patient with one’s kids, to smile even when one doesn’t feel like it, not to complain when faced with too much work, change of plans, hardships of life…etc. This is the kind of penance propagated in Opus Dei. Like other Catholics, members try to incorporate an element of sacrifice into their lives.

SAR News: Is it true to say that the Opus Dei's work is to protect the Magisterium of the Church?

Kevin: The faithful of Opus Dei make an effort to know what the Magisterium of the Church teaches and put it into practice. This, I would say, is what every Christian has to do.

SAR News: Would it be right to say that Opus Dei, in principle, is not in favour of inter-religious dialogue and ecumenism?

Kevin: It is incorrect to assume that Opus Dei is opposed to inter-religious dialogue and ecumenism. Centres of Opus Dei are open to people of all religions, Christians and non-Christians alike; we even welcome those who subscribe to no specific religion. Opus Dei is the first institution of the Church that, since 1950, accepts non-Catholic and non-Christian people as co-operators. I recall how St. Josemaria said in an interview that “there are many separated brethren who feel attracted by the spirit of Opus Dei and who cooperate in our apostolate. And they include ministers, even bishops of respective confessions” (Conversations with Monsignor Escrivá).

SAR News: Do you think mysticism is disappearing from Christianity?

Kevin: I’m assuming that when you talk of “mysticism” you are referring to “spirituality” -- that is to say, the bridge that links man with God through prayer. There are some signs that some Christians are losing their spirituality. Pope Benedict XVI in his recent addresses has repeatedly warned against the dangers of materialism and consumerism. We see many people today who work long hours to make more money with little or no consideration for how that affects the quality time they should be spending with their families. Others would have it that happiness lies in having whatever I want whenever I want it. A month ago in Loreto, the Pope said to the young people assembled there: “Do not be afraid of seeming different and being criticised for what might seem to be losing or out of fashion; your peers but adults too, especially those who seem more distant from the mindset and values of the Gospel, are crying out to see someone who dares to live according to the fullness of humanity revealed by Jesus Christ.”

By the same token, there is an encouraging wave of change -- a sort of interior renewal within the Church. “The phenomenon of World Youth Day is one of the most important contributions that the late Pope John Paul II made to Catholic life. When elected to the papacy in 1978, one of his ambitions was to strengthen the practice of going on pilgrimage. He succeeded and World Youth Day is now one example of that,” Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney has said. The World Youth Days have played a decisive part in fostering vocations to the priesthood, religious life and lay ministries. The church appears to be growing younger so to speak.

SAR News: The Tridentine Mass, Pope Benedict has encouraged it. Some are in favour and some say we are going back to pre-Vatican II times. How do you look at it?

Kevin: The first Mass that Pope Benedict XVI celebrated in the Sistine Chapel provides an insight into his liturgical vision. It’s a vision that seeks to heal the rift that has arisen between those who are accustomed to the Mass introduced by Paul VI and those who were attached to the Tridentine Mass. At the same time, I personally think that the Pope sees this as another avenue for attracting young people to the Church through the liturgical richness of the Tridentine Mass.

The members of the Opus Dei Prelature, as ordinary Catholic men and women, belong to the different existing rites of the Catholic Church (Latin, Maronite, Syro-Malabar and so on) and are faithful of the dioceses in which they reside.

Therefore, they remain under the authority of the diocesan bishop in exactly the same matters, including liturgy, as any other baptised person in his or her diocese.

SAR News: What do you think is the most formidable challenge for the Church in the world and the Church in India specifically?

Kevin: In the words of St. Josemaria, I would say that our greatest challenge is the “crises of saints” in the world today (Cf. The Way, No. 301). Be it in India or any other country, Christians have to strive to be consistent with their faith. The starting point is that I make the effort to be an upright person, even if those around me don’t do the same. I must be another Christ in society. In this way, others will inevitably be attracted to living the Christian ideal of holiness in the middle of the world.

SAR News: Don't you think the ideology and principles of Opus Dei must become more public in India?

Kevin: I dream that many people come to learn and embrace the spirit of Opus Dei that encourages us to seek sanctity in and through our daily work and circumstances. This spirit, or ideology as you have put it, is something that is made known mainly on a personal level, between a person of Opus Dei and his or her friends.

Perhaps I could also draw your attention to the webpage of Opus Dei www.opusdei.org.in that offers a very comprehensive explanation about what the Prelature is. Many people, upon visiting the site, write to the Information Office of Opus Dei in India to find out more. Some of these actually go a step further to come to a centre of Opus Dei for a monthly or an annual meeting or a class on Christian doctrine.

SAR News: How do you think lay people can join Opus Dei?

Kevin: Membership in Opus Dei requires a supernatural vocation. It is a personal call from God to place one’s whole life at his service, spreading the message of the universal call to holiness in ordinary work and social life. This vocation is usually discerned after being involved in Opus Dei's activities (retreats, classes, spiritual direction) regularly over a period of time, which enables one to acquire an in-depth knowledge of Opus Dei. It is also important to acquire consistency in the Christian practices to which members commit themselves: frequent reception of the sacraments, prayer, apostolate and, in general, a humble and constant effort to acquire virtue and struggle for holiness in keeping with the spirit of Opus Dei. Adult Catholics, men or women, married (about 70% of the members are married people) or single, of any background, nationality or socio-economic condition, may be incorporated in the Prelature.

Old & New Mass Ecclesiology Incompatible?

2007-10-05T14:41:00.000+05:30

Is the Ecclesiology of the Old Missal "Incompatible" with that of the New?

Motu Proprio Ecclesiological Question

Answered by Rev. Nicola Bux and Rev. Salvatore Vitiello

4 October 2007

Some say the Summorum Pontificum Motu proprio of Pope Benedict XVI could cause “uneasiness” because the ecclesiology present in the old Missal is “incompatible” with that which flowed from Vatican II. Let us try to verify the validity of this theory, by looking at the Roman Canon, the ancient Eucharistic prayer retained in the new Missal.

In it the priest turns first of all to the Father and presents the offerings for “the holy Catholic Church”, that He may guide it and grant it unity throughout the world - as the ancient Didachè prays - he offers them for the Pope, the Bishop and the community in which the Eucharist is being celebrated and “for all who hold and teach the Catholic faith that comes to us from the Apostles”.

These are the famous diptychs which prove the existence of communion in the Church. At the same time he ask the Father to remember those present: “we offer you this sacrifice of praise”, the ordained and the common priesthood. Secondly he says that the Mass is celebrated in communion with the Mary and the saints, the heavenly Church, asking for their intercession. Thirdly he asks God to “bless and approve the offerings”, that they may become consecrated: the expression is referred to the Holy Spirit. Scholars say the nucleus of the Roman Canon, is older than the definition of the Council of Constantinople in 381. And then the other ancient Eucharistic prayer, the Copt anaphora of Serapione also contains an epiclesi to the Word.

To return to the Roman Canon, after the consecration the priest recalls the memorial of Christ's paschal mystery offering his Body and his Blood as a pleasing sacrifice, prefigured in those of Abel, Abraham and in Melchisedech; he prays that the offering may be taken from the altar on earth to God's altar in heaven. There follows intercession for the dead, and "for us sinners". The great prayer closes with the glorification of the Trinity, and the Amen of the faithful.

From this prayer which skilfully doses personal and community faith, there emerges a Trinitarian ecclesiology of communion which descends from heaven with traits of unity, holiness, catholicity and apostolicity. The prayer remembers Jesus Christ and his mystery and awaits His coming both in the today of the liturgy and at the last judgement. A prayer which is essentially adoration. The present crisis of the liturgy is due to the fact that at centre of the liturgy very often instead of God and adoration of God there is mankind, the community; so, as J.B.Metz used to say: “The crisis of God is ecclesiologically blocked”.

Providentially the Council approved as its first act the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy because “First there is adoration and therefore God […] The Church derives from adoration, from the mission to glorify God” (J.Ratzinger, L’ecclesiologia della costituzione Lumen gentium, in La Comunione nella Chiesa, Cinisello B. 2004, p 132). This is the ecclesiology of the Council which, over and beyond historical accentuation, has remained the same for two millennia in the Catholic Church.

A crisis in the liturgy begins when it is not understood and lived as adoration in Jesus Christ of the Trinity and as a celebration of the whole Catholic Church not just one particular community, of which the bishops and priests are the ministers, that is servants, not masters. Continual lamenting on the part of some liturgists with regard to the failed actuation of the reform and expedients to render it attractive, indicate that the spirit of the liturgy has been lost reducing to an self-celebration of one particular community.

How many examples of liturgical relativism (falsely hidden under the name of creativity) we see every day: the Eucharist is the first to have paid for an idea of Church which is not catholic. To which ecclesiology are those who intend to affirm the presumed incompatibility of the Missal of Blessed John XXIII with the present ecclesial situation referring?

To fear two different ecclesiologies is a grave error: it means, as the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI said in his address to mark the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, considering the Council a break with Catholic tradition. The Roman missal of Saint Pius V and Blessed John XXIII, heir to the ancient sacramentaries and medieval Missals, and the Missal of Paul VI, are an expression of the one and the same lex credendi et orandi which gives primacy to the relationship with God of the Church and every individual member. This is the only ecclesiology which can be said to be Catholic. (Agenzia Fides)

NISCORT Completes 10 Years

2007-10-03T08:14:00.000+05:30

INDIA Church Media Institute Completes 10 Years, Undaunted By Challenges

October 2, 2007

NEW DELHI (UCAN) -- People associated with a communications institute the Indian bishops launched 10 years ago say it has braved decade-long challenges to prepare media persons for the Church and secular world.

Among the challenges that have dogged the National Institute of Social Communication, Research and Training (NISCORT) are staff turnover, publicity shortcomings, the indifference of bishops and inadequate funding.

Father Henry D' Souza, secretary of the Commission for Social Communications of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, says NISCORT's "big and small" contributions have strengthened the Church's overall communications effort, while its current director, Father Jude Botelho, says NISCORT "to a certain extent" has succeeded in its mission but still has more to achieve.

When the institute was launched in September 1997, it began as a small room in the Delhi archbishop's house. In 2003, it moved to its 1.61-hectare campus about 15 kilometers east of New Delhi. The academic block houses a library with more than 3,000 volumes, as well as a video studio and two audio studios. Its facilities also include three non-linear editing systems and a language lab, and the campus has a hostel that can accommodate 70 students.

Courses range from three months to two-year programs. In 2005, NISCORT was accepted as a "study institute" of Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism in Bhopal, and it now offers master's degrees in print and broadcast journalism, and diplomas in video production. The first post-affiliation class produced 35 graduates.

NISCORT offers Church people a three-month course in pastoral communication. It also provides distance education in mass media through another university, and conducts seminars, film festivals and debates on social issues.

To balance its enrollment, NISCORT offers scholarships to qualified poor students, and subsidizes half the fees of some students in short-term courses.

Bishop Patrick Paul D'Souza, the retired bishop of Varanasi and NISCORT's founding chairperson, told UCA News that the institute has helped many nuns and priests learn communication basics, and some of its 200 alumni now manage communication centers in dioceses and Religious congregations.

Jesuit Father Jacob Srampickal, the former dean and now director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Communication Studies in Rome, told UCA News through an e-mail message that some nuns "who would otherwise not have had any training in media got the training they deserved" through NISCORT.

Despite such achievements, many say the institute has yet to make its mark.

Father Botelho told UCA News the lack of publicity stunted NISCORT's growth, but more seminars are planned to open "our institute to others." Even so, the Bombay archdiocesan priest laments, many bishops still treat communication as secondary, and "dioceses could send more people for training."

However, Father Srampickal maintains that part of the problem rests with NISCORT itself, particularly a lack of vision that disappoints many of its students. Those running the institute believe "technology is the main thing," he said, but "in fact, technology is not communications. It is only a help."

A related challenge, the Rome-based Jesuit said, is finding the right staff.

Father Botelho agrees, but he said recruiting dedicated and committed instructors is tough because priests and nuns get transferred, and "highly qualified professors leave when offered four times what we pay."

Funding has long been a struggle, and Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Bombay, NISCORT's chairperson, told UCA News inadequate funding clearly has "stunted growth for many years." Now, the Italian Bishops' Conference, Missio Aachen in Germany and Stichting (foundation) Porticus in the Netherlands fund NISCORT.

Despite the institute's problems, the archbishop said, it is making slow but steady progress, and some alumni readily testify to the institute's value.

Gopal Kumar Jha, a Hindu who studied broadcast journalism, told UCA News he was taught not only media techniques, but also values such as punctuality, dedication and respect. "We also learned about current issues and events through workshops and debates," said Jha, now working for a Hindi TV channel.

Binu Joseph, a Catholic, is also grateful to NISCORT for the diploma course in video production that helped him find a job in "this competitive world."

Source: UCAN (http://www.ucanews.com/)

William D'Souza Appointed Patna Archbishop

2007-10-02T09:01:00.000+05:30

Bishop William D'Souza Appointed Archbishop Of Patna

NEW DELHI, OCT. 01, 2007: Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Most Rev. Benedict J. Osta, SJ, from the pastoral governance of the Archdiocese of Patna and has appointed Bishop William D’Souza, SJ, as the Archbishop of Patna.

Presently, Bishop William D’Souza is the Bishop of Buxar in Bihar.

The ecclesiastical provision was made public in Rome on Monday, Oct. 01, 2007 at noon local time, corresponding to 15.30 hours Indian time.

William D'Souza SJ was appointed Bishop of the newly erected diocese of Buxar on Dec. 12, 2005. He consecrated Bishop on March 25, 2006 with Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, Apostolic Nuncio in India as the main consecrator.

Bishop William D'Souza, a Jesuit of the Province of Patna, was born in 1946, ordained priest in 1976 after completing Philosophy in Shembanagur in Tamil Nadu and theology in Jnana Deepa Vidyapeet in Pune.

During his rich and fruitful priestly ministry he was assistant Novice Master, superior of Jesuit communities in various places, Rector of the Minor Seminary in Muzaffarpur, parish priest in several parishes, secretary to the Bishop of Muzaffarpur and Provincial of the Patna Jesuit Province.

He was also the Administrator of Muzaffarpur diocese for a year. He was the parish priest of Itarhi in the district of Buxar at the time of his appointment as bishop.

The metropolitan Archdiocese of Patna comprises of Bettiah, Bhagalpur, Buxar, Muzaffarpur and Purnea as suffragan dioceses. (CBCI)

Also See:
William D'Souza to be consecrated Buxar Bishop on 25th March 2006

Leo Cornelio to be New Bhopal Archbishop

2007-09-15T21:08:00.000+05:30

New Archbishop Of Bhopal To Be Installed On Sunday

New Delhi, Sep 15, 2007: Archbishop Leo Cornelio will be installed as the new Archbishop of Bhopal on Sunday, Sep. 16.

A solemn Eucharistic celebration will be held at 2.30 pm on the St. Joseph’s School Grounds, Bhopal.

The Apostolic Nuncio in India Archbishop Pedro López Quintana, Emeritus Archbishop of Bhopal Pascal Topno, CBCI secretary general Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandez, bishops of MP & Chhatisgarh region and archbishops and bishops from other parts of the country are expected to participate in the ceremonies.

Priests, representatives of religious communities and faithful of Khandwa also will be attending the ceremony to pray for their outgoing Bishop.

The Eucharistic celebration will be followed by a felicitation function which will be attended among many other dignitaries by the governor of MP, Dr Balram Jhakkar and MP chief minister Mr Shivraj Singh Chauhan.

Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Leo Cornelio, formerly Bishop of Khandwa as the new Archbishop of Bhopal. At the same time, the Holy Father has accepted the resignation of the incumbent Archbishop of Bhopal Paschal Topno who completed seventy five years today.

A member of the religious congregation of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), Bishop Cornelio has been the Bishop of Khandwa for nearly 8 years.

Since June 1988, prior to his appointment as Bishop of Khandwa, then Fr Leo Cornelio served as the consultor general of the Society of the Divine Word, Rome for nearly twelve years.

The newly appointed Archbishop Cornelio was born on March 14, 1945 in Kukkunje, near the coastal city of Udupi in Karnataka. After completing his primary schooling in his native place, at the early age of thirteen he was recruited by well known SVD German missionary, Fr. Peter Verhalen, and was admitted to Rajeshwar Vidhyalaya, Mhow in Madhya Pradesh. There he continued his studies from 1958 to 1962.

After completing two years in an apostolic school of the Divine Word Society, where he studied Latin and other disciplines meant to integrate his life with spiritual and intellectual training, he joined the novitiate (1964-66) for spiritual and religious formation.

After his first profession, he graduated with a B. Ph and a B. Th. at the Papal Athenaeum, Pune in the year 1968 and 1972 respectively.

After his philosophical studies, he was assigned to an Institution in Goa for an intensive year of training exposure. During this time, he helped in the construction of the SVD seminary and taught the students English and mathematics.

Having made the Religious Profession on June 11, he was ordained a priest in his native parish Mount Rosary Church, Kallianpur on November 14 by the then Bishop of Mangalore, Bishop Basil S. D' Souza.

Soon after his ordination, he joined Gyan Ashram, Mumbai to assist Fr. George Proksch SVD, a German missionary who made significant contribution to music, dance and Hindi writings.

Later, he was assigned to an institution in Dohad, Baroda Diocese. He worked for eleven years there, first as teacher and vice principal of St. Stephen's Higher Secondary School and as assistant parish priest of St. Joseph's Parish. During this time, he actively involved himself in teaching, pastoral work, and youth activities.

In June 1983 he traveled to Rome for a spiritual and theological course.

On his return to India in 1984, he was elected as provincial superior of the SVD Central Indian province with its headquarters in Indore. Three year later, in 1987, he was re-elected to the same position.

In June 1988, at an SVD General Chapter held in Rome, he was elected a consultor general. He served for two terms of six years each in that position,.

As a general councilor, he has traveled far and wide in U.S., Canada, Australia, Caribbean islands and a good number of countries in South America, Africa, Asia as well as Europe.

Already acquainted with several Indian languages and English as an international language of communication, he took time to learn five other foreign languages - Italian, Spanish, French, German and Indonesian - to be able to read, write and converse in them.

Almost towards the fag end of his second term as general councilor, Pope John Paul II appointed him as bishop of Khandwa Diocese. As a dedicated shepherd, he promoted the educational and social development apostolates in a big way.

At present, he is a member of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant People for the second successive term.

Also, he is the chairman of the CBCI Commission for Youth and chair-person of the Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM) as well as for YCS/YSM, both at the national and Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh levels.

Besides, he is a member of the CBCI Commission for Social Communications and also the financial administrator for the Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Regional Major Seminaries at Bhopal and Ashta.

(CBCI)

The Catholic Directory of Bombay: 2007-2008

2007-09-13T08:56:00.000+05:30

The Catholic Directory of Bombay: 2007-2008

The twenty-fifth edition of the Catholic Directory of the Archdiocese of Bombay is now available at Rs 70.00 during the Office hours (9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m.) at the following places upto October 31, 2007:

a) Bandra - Diocesan Catechetical Centre - Ms Vitaline Serrao
b) Fort - Archbishop’s House - Fr Barthol Barretto
c) Goregaon - St Pius X College - Fr John Rodrigues
d) Thane - St John the Baptist Church - Fr John Rumao
e) Uttan - Muktisagar Prabodhan Kendra - Fr Hilary Fernandes

From November 01, 2007 the directories will be available only at Archbishop’s House, Fort.

DD Retreat By Fr. Conrad Saldanha - September 2007

2007-09-12T15:02:00.000+05:30

Discipline and Discernment

DDOOR Ministries

Yearning For God In The Silence Of Our Hearts

The Discipline and Discernment retreat is a beautiful program designed for the growth of every aspect of one's personality. It is a wonderful blend of the traditional Catholic spirituality with a Charismatic dimension. Many experience healing and deliverance along with tremendous transformation of personality and change of attitude.

"Life is not the same and there is no confusion whether in my family or business" - A testimony by one of the retreatants, that bears evidence to its effectiveness, need and significance. Today it's one of the most popular and sought after silent retreat in the archdiocese of Bombay.

Experience the greatest form of Love - The Love of God

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. - Proverbs 8:17

In Goa

Dates: Sep 14(Fri. 5.30pm) to Sep 19(Wed. 4.30pm)

Venue: Franciscan Monastery, Montegiri, Mapusa, Goa

In Bombay

Dates:

a) 20th Oct to 25 Oct 07
b) 9th Nov to 14th Nov 07
c) 17th Nov to 22nd Nov 07
d) 30th Nov to 5th Dec 07

Venue: Vinalaya, Andheri (E)

Registration

Call: Sunny 9225900207 [Mapusa], Annette 9860956077 [Navellim]/Edna Godinho 95832-2459464 /9822160749 (Bambolim)/Engracia: 95832-2750936 [Margao]/Reeta: 09819828660 [Mumbai]/Guilhermina: 09819828667 [Mumbai]

Fees

Total Fees: Rs. 650/- per person

Advance: Rs. 250/- (non-refundable), Balance: Rs. 400/- at the Venue

He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly (lack of discernment) he is lost. Prov. 5:23

Let's arise and walk toward the light of the Lord

Seek first his kingdom & his righteousness, & all these things will be given to you as well. Matt: 6:33

Note to Retreatants

1. This is a 5-day retreat conducted by Fr. Conrad and Team.

2. The fee covers your stay, food and administrative expenses.

3. The retreat begins at 6.30 pm on the first day. You are requested to assemble
at the venue between 4.30 and 6.00 pm.

4. Retreatants are requested to carry the following necessary items:

- Bible
- Rosary
- Toiletries
- Two bed sheets
- Pen & note pad
- Any other items that need to be blessed

5. As the number of seats is limited, request you to register at the earliest.

Posted by Mariza Ferrao

MANGALORE: EWTN Transmission Begins

2007-09-07T16:39:00.000+05:30

MANGALORE: Catholics Rejoices as Cable Operators Relay EWTN

MANGALORE September 7, 2007 (KonkaniCatholics.com): One day ahead of their popular Marian feast, 'Monti Fest', Catholics in Mangalore cannot believe their ears as they hear that EWTN, the leading global Catholic TV Channel is now being relayed to their homes by the city's cable operators.

"It was like tasting heaven for some time" said Joannes Rodrigues, an engineering student in the city who couldn't wait to get home to check it out.

Joannes along with a small group of like minded friends has been working behind the scenes for the last three years in order to make EWTN known in the city. "It is doing the work of the Lord that gives greater joy than owning the latest mobile phone" he said expressing his joy over the news.

Eternal Word Television Network, EWTN was started by Poor Clare nun, Mother M. Angelica in Alabama, USA, on August 15, 1981. Now in its 27th year of service, it is the largest religious media network in the world, transmitting programming 24 hours a day to more than 123 million homes in 140 countries and territories on more than 4,800 cable systems, wireless cable, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS), low power TV and individual satellite users.

Taking the lead from Joannes, Fr. Victor Vijay Lobo, the Communications Director of Mangalore Diocese successfully negotiated the possibility of EWTN transmission with 'V-4', the partnership of the major cable operators in the city. Their service extends also to the towns of Belthangady, Moodabidri, Karkal and Bantwal.

Explaining the general lack of ongoing catechetical formation, Fr. Vijay said, "Many people do not know how to answer the faith questions posed to them by Christian Fundamentalists." He believes that "EWTN will greatly help in strengthening the faith of the people by giving them the real teachings of the Catholic Church."

When asked if the viewers will be able to follow the English broadcasts, Fr. Vijay said, "Though English is not understood in the villages, it is well understood by the youth and especially those in the city."

"In any case, one can always watch the programs like the the Rosary, Mass, live broadcasts of Papal pilgrimages and events like the upcoming World Youth Day in Sydney next year", he remarked with optimism.

In order to make EWTN known to Catholics in and around Mangalore, Fr. Vijay plans to have announcements made in Churches, parish publications and through handbills.

UDUPI: Christian Life Programme by SFC

2007-09-06T12:12:00.000+05:30

UDUPI: SFC to Organise Christian Life Programme on September 9, 2007

Kallianpur unit (Udupi District/Mangalore Diocese) Singles for Christ (SFC) is organising a Christian Life Programme (CLP) for singles over the age of 21 at Udupi from September 9, 2007.

Singles for Christ (SFC), the youth wing of Couples for Christ (CFC) aims to provide a Christian support environment for single men and women who are at the crossroads of their state of life, choosing between marriage, a religious vocation, or single blessedness. It is now established in India and in many key cities and states of other countries around the world.

The programme will be held at Don Bosco hall in the Mother of Sorrows Church premises and the first orientation talk will be given on September 9 at 3.30 pm.

For more details contact Vivian Cornelio (9844994484), or Michael Mendonca (9845150642)

Posted by Michael Mendonca

MANGALORE: Diocesan Directory - 2007

2007-08-27T13:57:00.000+05:30

New Mangalore Diocesan Directory Out

MANGALORE, August 27, 2007: The new directory of the Diocese of Mangalore is now available at "Mangala Jyothi", the Diocesan Biblical, Liturgical and Catechetical Centre.

The directory has complete and up-to-date information regarding the diocesan officials, parishes, priests, pious associatons, institutions and religious orders.

For the first time there has been included a brief history of the diocese and a section on the "Prelates from the Diocese of Mangalore" which lists a total of 39 Bishops, including 5 deceased, who hail from Mangalore.

Also included are the email and website details of parishes and institutions, and a map showing all the diocesan parishes coming under the nine taluks of Mangalore, Udupi, Kundapur, Karkal, Belthangady, Bantwal, Puttu, Sullia and Kasargod.

Copies of the directory at Rs. 35/- each may be obtained from "Mangala Jyothi", Shanti Kiran, Bajjodi, Mangalore - 575 005 (Tel: 0824-2215747)

MANGALORE: National Bishops Workshop Inaugurated

2007-08-21T17:06:00.000+05:30

MANGALORE: Cardinal Toppo Inaugurates National Computer Workshop for Bishops

(Click on the picture for more photos.)

MANGALORE, July 21: A three day computer workshop for bishops was inaugurated at St. Aloysius Chapel here by Cardinal Toppo yesterday afternoon.

"We are here as shepherds of the media age to acquaint ourselves with the computer and Internet skills so that we can be more effective in our service to the Church and to the people of India" the Cardinal said.

The national workshop titled "Shepherds in the Media Age" which will be held at the Mangalore Diocesan Pastoral Institute and St Aloysius College Computer Academy will help the 24 participating bishops to improve their computer and internet skills. The workshop is organized by the CBCI Commmission for Social Communications.

Highlighting the need to acquaint oneself with computer and internet skills Cardinal said, "By learning computer and Internet skills, we should assist the community, to cross many cultural thresholds, each of which called for fresh energy and imagination' in proclaiming the Good News of sublime human and spiritual values."

"This workshop will surely open before us wide vistas and avenues for innovations in our pastoral ministry," he told the assembled Bishops.

Earlier, Bishop Aloysius Paul D’Souza of Mangalore welcomed the bishops to Mangalore while Fr. Swebert D'Silva, the principal of St. Aloysius College spoke of the significance of the famous Jesuit chapel.

The prayer service was led by Bishop of Baroda Godfrey de Rozario and later Fr. Henry D’Souza, the executive secretary of the CBCI Commission for Social Communications introduced the dynamics of the workshop.

The National Workshop for bishops will conclude on Aug. 23 with a seminar on: "Communicating in a New Way in the Media Age".

MANGALORE: Shepherds of the Media Age (Bishops' Workshop)

2007-08-18T21:21:00.000+05:30

Shepherds of the Media Age, Bishops To Acquire Internet-Computer Skills

New Delhi, Aug. 18, 2007, 09.30 Hrs (CBCI News):

The Catholic bishops of India will be joining a national workshop to acquire computer and Internet skills organised by the CBCI Commission for Social Communications on the theme: “Shepherds of the Media Age.”

24 bishops led by the CBCI president Cardinal Telesphore Toppo will inaugurate and also participate in the 4-day workshop which will be held at the Mangalore Diocesan Pastoral Institute and St Aloysius College Computer Academy.

“Christianity is essentially communication and the Church is called to be a communicating Church. Therefore, bishops as shepherds are called to be communicators in the new media age,” said the chairman of the CBCI Communications Commission, Archbishop Oswald Gracias.

“Today’s communications revolution demands that leaders ‘think communication’ and use new communication technologies to get their message through,” declared Archbishop Gracias.

During the workshop, “the bishops will acquaint themselves with the pastoral communications skills and upgrade their knowledge of computers,” said the facilitator of the programme and the executive secretary of CBCI Commission for Social Communications, Fr Henry D’Souza.

“Internet is a versatile tool of communication and bishops as leaders need to be computer savvy and Internet friendly. Leaders of today cannot tackle today’s challenges with yesterday’s tools,” said Fr Henry D’Souza.

It may be recalled that CBCI’s general body meeting held in Trichur in 2004, deliberated on the theme, “Church and Social Communications.” The general body came out with a much appreciated final statement entitled, “Called to be a communicating Church.”

The general body of CBCI had emphatically stressed that all church leaders – bishops, priests, religious brothers and sisters and lay persons need to be trained in communications.

“It would be interesting to see the Shepherds of the new age, moving about with lap-tops in their pastoral work”, remarked Fr D’Souza.

The workshop will end on Aug. 23 with a session on “Communicating in a New Way in the Media Age” which will coincide with the inaugural session of the national conference of Catholic communicators.

CCBI President's Independence Day Message - 2007

2007-08-17T17:18:00.000+05:30

Oswald Gracias: India Stands Erect Among Nations with Great Moral Authority

Bangalore, 15 August, 2007 (CCBI News):

Message of Oswald Gracias as India Celebrates Its Diamond Jubilee of Independence

August 15, 2007 takes our minds back to August 15, 1947 when at the stroke of midnight India awoke to a new dawn and the world welcomed into its ranks another great free nation: our beloved motherland India.

Pride swells our hearts when we think about the great men and women who have walked our land and led it to great heights. Economic progress has been evidenced in the past few years but the soul of India was being nourished by its great leaders right from the beginning so that it stood erect with great moral authority among the Comity of Nations.

Today, the world looks with awe at India because of its great economic strides as it foresees that within a decade it will be among the leading economic forces of the world. At the same time we have to regretfully admit that the benefits of economic progress have not percolated to all levels of society. There are still millions in our country who are living below the poverty line; millions who cannot read or write; millions who are still deprived of adequate medical facilities; thousands of villages still remain without adequate water, sufficient power or proper sanitation. Only when no Indian is hungry when every Indian can live with dignity and has an opportunity to contribute to our nation's progress can we say that we have truly arrived.

On this happy occasion, we pray to God to bless our Motherland, its leaders and its people, a land so richly blessed with resources, human and material. We pray to God that the years ahead will see besides economic progress, development in every field particularly moral values so that corruption, intolerance and criminality become buried in history. We pray to God that our country become to the world a model of true humanism, genuine respect for the individual and deep upholding of spiritual values. JAI BHARAT MATA, JAI HIND".

+Oswald Gracias
Archbishop of Bombay and President - C.C.B.I.

CBCI President's Independence Day Message 2007

2007-08-15T00:00:00.000+05:30

Message of the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI)

On the 60th Anniversary of Independence of India

Your Eminence/Grace/Excellency,

“Long years ago we made a tryst with destiny, and now the time comes when we shall redeem our pledge...At the stroke of the midnight hour, when the world sleeps, India will awake to life and freedom. A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance" (Jawaharlal Nehru )

These historic words of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru heralded a new era for India that had long been under the British colonial rule. Under the able and dynamic leadership of our great Statesmen who steered the destiny of our free nation, India began its long march on the road of progress and development.

Successive Union and State Governments carried on with the vision of the founding generation for building India as a sovereign republic, democratic, modern, progressive and strong nation. It is a matter of great pride that we as a nation have achieved many feats in agriculture, industry, science, technology, health and education. We have built up a strong defense force, a just judicial system, an expansive media that has raised the level of public consciousness, a network of academic centers and research institutes and, of course, an army of skilled work force that has been the bulwark of all these achievements over the years.

In this great venture of nation building, the Christian community in India has been making its small but noteworthy contribution towards the development of our country through its network of education and health institutions, social and economic development programs.

All these are legitimate reasons for us to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our Independence. On this cherished occasion, we salute with grateful admiration those heroic men and women and pay fitting homage to all of them and to tens of thousands of unknown soldiers who have sacrificed their lives on the altar of Freedom, with sheer dedication and commitment for the great cause of Independence of India

While being proud of the economic, social and political achievements made over the last six decades, we cannot in all honesty turn a blind eye to the hard realities of our country. Our economic prosperity has certainly earned us a membership in the global economic club, but it has terribly failed to percolate down to those living on the peripheries of society. It is a matter of serious concern that India still houses nearly 300 millions of people living below poverty line. Although we may have created world-class education and health institutions, we still have a long way to go before we can ensure quality education and health services to large sections of the population, particularly to the poor and the marginalized. Let us have no illusion. There can be no peace without justice and no development without peace.

Creation of Panchayati Raj institutions was a step in the right direction of decentralizing planning process, and that women constitute 50% of the elected representatives in such institutions is a matter of considerable achievement. However, we are still wrestling with the age old problems of corruption, mismanagement of resources and neglect of the real deserving groups from the ambit of development. Coupled with this is the escalated communal divide that we have witnessed over the last decade, reflected in many a riot in different parts of the country causing huge loss of life and property. In particular, the religious minorities have been feeling a growing unease and deep anxiety, as they have been repeatedly targeted by certain socio-political organizations.

India has a lead role to play in the modern world that is struggling to come to terms with multi-cultural and multi-religious ethos that has been our hallowed heritage for millennia. India has always been an inclusive society with different cultures, languages, religions and philosophies that co-existed, creating great confluences of minds and hearts, values and traditions. And to preserve this unparalleled heritage is the supreme duty of each one of us, citizens of Independent India.

On this joyful occasion, let us pray that God Almighty bless our country abundantly, keep it united and strong, prosperous and peaceful, and above all bring cheer and well-being to the least of our brothers and sisters. May our sages’ wisdom of “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam” where every citizen feels included in the process of development and progress of India come true in letter and spirit as we, as a nation, march ahead.

With grateful hearts, let us keep in all our families, institutions, parishes and Dioceses a Day of Special Prayer for Our Country as we celebrate 60th Anniversary of our Independence. May Mother Mary, whose Feast of Assumption into heaven we celebrate on the very day of our Independence, show us the way to live out our Freedom through a dedicated life of love and generous service.

"Into that haven of freedom, O Father, let my country awake" (R. Tagore)

Yours sincerely in Christ,

† Telesphore Cardinal Toppo
Archbishop of Ranchi & President, CBCI

Christy Fernandez Appointed President's Secretary

2007-08-09T18:27:00.000+05:30

Christy Fernandez Appointed Secretary To President Of India

August 9, 2007

NEW DELHI -- An Indian Administrative Service officer from the Catholic community has been appointed secretary to the newly sworn in President of India, Prathibha Patil.

Christy Fernandez, belonging to the Latin Catholic diocese of Quilon in Kerala state, has assumed charge of his new post, after serving as secretary to the Department of Tourism at the Centre.

Son of Leon Fernandez, a schoolteacher in Clappana in Quilon diocese, he had his early education in a local school and university education in Fatima College Quilon and Mar Ivanios College Trivandrum.

Fernandez belongs to the 1973 batch of the IAS Gujarat cadre. He has also served as joint secretary in the Agriculture and Petroleum ministries, additional secretary in the Commerce ministry and principal secretary of the Gujarat Town Development Council. He has been an active member of the parish wherever he is posted. (SAR)

BANGALORE: St. Joseph's Wins Bible Quiz

2007-08-06T18:44:00.000+05:30

St. Joseph's Boys' School Emerges Inter-School Bible Quiz Champions

August 6, 2007

BANGALORE, Karnataka (SAR NEWS) -- St. Josephs Boys’ School Bangalore emerged winners of the fourth Annual Interschool Bible Quiz hosted by Serra Club of Bangalore, August 4, at the Catholic Club here.

Thirty-eight teams from 20 Catholic schools in the city took part in the preliminary written round comprising 30 questions. Five teams qualified for the finals.

As many as 114 students participated in the quiz based on St. Mark’s Gospel.

The final round of the quiz comprised individual questions, a rapid-fire round and a visual round. St. Joseph’s School bagged the D’Sa Rolling Trophy for the winners.

St. Francis Xavier’s Girls’ School finished second and Cluny Convent Malleswaram third.

Later, Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore addressing the children exhorted them to read the Bible and get to know Christ Jesus better. He presented the 15 finalists with a special Bible.

Organiser and vice-president of Serra Club, Brinda Abreo, said the general standard of participation was steadily improving every year and it was the endeavour of Serra Club to sow a small seed for vocations in the hearts of Bangalore's Catholic youth while encouraging and helping them to know the Bible better.

Serra Club, a group of lay Catholics, is committed to fostering and promoting vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. (SAR)

Mangalore To Host Two National Seminars

2007-08-06T18:29:00.000+05:30

Mangalore To Host Two National Seminars

August 6, 2007

MANGALORE, Karnataka (SAR NEWS) -- ‘Communications in the Church’ is the theme of two national seminars to be held in Mangalore August-end.

The first seminar for bishops with the theme “Shepherds of the Media Age” will held August 20-23 and the second one for the diocesan communications directors and the regional communication secretaries with the theme ‘Communicating in a new way in the Media age” will be organised August 23-26 by the CBCI Commission for Social communications at the Pastoral Centre here.

The bishops’ seminar will delve on pastoral communication skills, computer skills, Jesus the Perfect Communicator, communications -- opportunities and challenges, media, human rights and civil liberties.

About 20 bishops are expected to participate in this seminar.

The second seminar for the diocesan communications directors deals with the topics: Communications - opportunities and challenges, media, human rights and civil liberties, Jesus the Perfect Communicator, Whither Church communications in India, Catholic communicators and print media in India, Performing arts – a people’s medium, Catholic communications, Civil society and social concerns, New media – a new forum for Catholic communicators, Media and consumer rights.

About 120 diocesan directors, regional secretaries of communications and others associated with the Church media are expected to participate in the seminar.

Both the seminars will have their inaugural session at Sandesha, the regional social communications centre with Cardinal Telesphore Toppo inaugurating the seminar and Bishop Aloysius D’Souza of Mangalore welcoming the participants. (SAR)

BOMBAY: Vianney Sunday - Archbishop's Wishes

2007-08-05T10:54:00.000+05:30

Vianney Sunday (Aug 5) in Bombay Archdiocese

On Sunday, August 05, we celebrate the feast of St John Marie Vianney, patron of priests engaged in the pastoral ministry. I invite our clergy, religious and faithful to pray very specially for our priests and seminarians, for vocations to the sacred priesthood, for our retired clergy and for those priests who have already gone to their heavenly home.

May I take this occasion to thank all the priests in our Archdiocese who are engaged in the pastoral ministry. I know the dedication and commitment with which you work for our people. May God through the intercession of St John Marie Vianney inspire you to give your best in your priestly ministry.

I express my sincere gratitude to all those who support our Diocesan Seminary, Goregaon and the Clergy Home, Bandra with their prayers and their offerings. I thank the Administrators and the whole Staff of the Clergy Home who together with the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master dedicate themselves so selflessly for the service of our retired clergy. I thank the Rector and Staff of St Pius X College who together with the Poor Sisters of Our Lady care for our seminarians. It would interest all to know that this year there have been eighteen new admissions to the Diocesan Seminary, five being candidates for the Archdiocese of Bombay. God willing, we should have six Ordinations to the Priesthood for our Archdiocese next April.

The collection at all the Parish Masses on Vianney Sunday and cheques made out in favour of “Archdiocese of Bombay” are to be sent to the Diocesan Fund, for sick and retired priests, at Archbishop’s House by the end of August 2007.

+Oswald Gracias
Archbishop of Bombay

July 28, 2007

---

On Sunday, 5 August 2007, Archbishop Oswald Gracias will celebrate mass at:

9.30 a.m.: Feast Mass, St Ignatius Church, Jacob Circle

6.30 p.m.: Vianney Sunday Mass, Holy Name Cathedral, Fort

KARKALA - St. Lawrence Feast 2007

2007-08-04T13:21:00.000+05:30

MANGALORE-KARKALA: St. Lawrence Shrine, Attur - Feast 2007

The solemn mass of the annual feast of St. Lawrence at Attur will be at 10.30am on 10 August. The New Vicar General of Mangalore Diocese, V. Rev. Msgr Denis Moras Prabhu will be the main celebrant on the occassion.

The preparatory novena will be at 10.30 am everyday from 1st to 9th August. It will be led by Fr. Baptist Menezes, Episcopal Vicar Udupi (1 Aug), Fr. Mathew Vas (2 Aug), Fr. Vincent D'Souza (3 Aug), Fr. Michael D'Silva (4 Aug), Fr. Stany Goveas (6 Aug), Fr. Vincent Coelho (7 Aug), Fr. Alfred Pinto (8 Aug) and Fr. Cyprian Pinto (9 Aug).

Lunch will be provided on novena days to all pilgrims.

For more information, contact: Rev. Fr. Arthur Pereira, Parish Priest, Attur, Ph: 08258-233842,230322

Dr. Carvalho Appointed Vatican Academy Member

2007-08-04T13:14:00.000+05:30

Dr Pascoal Carvalho Appointed Corresponding Member of Vatican Academy

New Delhi, Aug. 04, 2007:

Dr Pascoal Carvalho has been appointed Corresponding Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life by His Excellency Bishop Elio Sgreccia, president of the Academy, Vatican City.

The Pontifical Academy for Life was established by Pope John Paul II to study questions and issues connected with the promotion and defence of human life from an interdisciplinary perspective, and also fostering a culture of life and communicating to the various institutions of the biomedical sciences, social-health care organisations, the mass media, and the civil community in general about the most relevant results of its study and research activities.

Dr. Carvalho received his Doctorate in Microbiology and worked as a Post Doctoral Fellow (W.H.O), securing his Post Doctorate in Immunology.

Dr. Carvalho has several publications in International and Indian scientific journals. In addition to an eminent career in immunology, Dr. Carvalho is recognised in academics. He has been called upon for his expertise in the Biotechnology Industry.

He is a Member of the Indian Society of Blood Transfusion and Immunohaematology. He was a co-guide, IIT, for M. Tech students of Bio-Medical Engineering and has been a Faculty member Food & Drug Administration (FDA)- Officers training programmes. Dr. Carvalho is also on the Internal Animal Ethics Committee of The Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) of the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) as a nominee on behalf of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Dr. Pascoal Carvalho is a resident of Bandra, Mumbai. As a Catholic scientist he has been making notable contributions to ethics in medical diagnosis, and is always at the service of life through educational programs in biomedical ethics. He is a Member of the FIAMC Bio-Medical Ethics Centre, Mumbai, and the Diocesan Human Life Committee, Mumbai. (CBCI)

Konkani-speaking Catholics Put Bible Online

2007-07-28T09:43:00.000+05:30

Konkani-Speaking Catholics Put Bible Online in their own Language

July 27, 2007

MANGALORE, India (UCAN) -- A Catholic community has made the Bible in a southern Indian tongue available online so that people around the world can read Scripture in the Konkani language.

Austine Crasta, who runs the community's website (konkanicatholics.com), initiated the project with the help of friends and Mangalore diocese. The Bible project is part of the website, whose motto is "Uniting Konkani Catholics Worldwide for the Faith."

Crasta explained to UCA News that the online Bible is "for Konkani Catholics in remote corners of the world who do not have access to the Bible in their mother tongue." He said it may also help members in places where religious practices are restricted and the Bible is not permitted.

Some of them in certain nations have to meet secretly to worship, he pointed out, and their "powerful witness inspired me to perform this service."

Many young Konkani people "spend much time on the Internet," he added, so "they may also get an opportunity to meet the Lord" through the online Bible.

Michael Mendonca, a Catholic layman prepared the electronic form of the text, and two other youths designed and developed the site, with the support of Father Francis X. Lewis, public relations officer of Mangalore diocese.

About 1.7 million people in India use Konkani, one of the country's 22 officially recognized languages. Most live on the southwestern coast of India, served by Mangalore and Karwar dioceses and Goa archdiocese.

About 1 million Catholics live in the area. When Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza of Mangalore launched the site (konkanibible.org) on July 26, he said it can help "all Konkani people come to know God and bear witness to Christ."

Mangalore diocese released its hard-copy Konkani bible in Kannada script during the Catholic Church's Jubilee of the Year 2000. Now that text is available online. Konkani lacks its own script, so it uses Karnataka state's official Kannada-language script or the Roman script.

Konkani Catholics are so called because of the language they use. Many of their forefathers migrated from Goa in the 16th and 17th centuries for socio-political and cultural reasons. They have produced more than 35 bishops and thousands of missioners who serve around the country and beyond. In recent years, many members have migrated to European and West Asian nations.

Reproduced by Konkani Catholics with permission from UCA News (www.ucanews.com)

Konkani Bible Website Launched

2007-07-26T17:42:00.000+05:30

PRESS RELEASE

Konkani Bible Website Launched

July 26, 2007:

The entire Konkani Bible is now available online in Kannada script.

On the occassion of the Platinum Jubilee celebration of the Catholic Board of Education held at the Bishop's house July 26, 2007, the Bishop of Mangalore, Most Rev. Dr. Aloysius Paul D'Souza inaugurated the Konkani Bible website - http://www.konkanibible.org/

The Konkani language spoken by over 1.7 million speakers in India, especially in the western coastal regions, is one of India's 22 official languages. The three predominantly Konkani dioceses of Goa, Mangalore & Karwar alone account for over 1 million of India's Catholics.

Expressing "great joy" over the website, Bishop D'Souza, in his written message, explained that the Sacred Scriptures is the vehicle of God's self-communication. He prayed that through this website "all [Konkani] people come to know God and bear witness to Christ".

The Konkani Bible (Kannada-script) released by the Diocese of Mangalore during the Great Jubilee Year 2000, was put online through the efforts of KonkaniCatholics.com, an online community of Konkani speaking Catholics around the world.

This project was co-ordinated by Austine Crasta, Brahmavar with the support of Fr. Francis X. Lewis, PRO, Mangalore Diocese. The preparation and editing of the electronic form of the text was done by Michael Mendonca, Santhekatte-Kallianpur, while the website designed and developed by Arun & Maria Valdar, Loreto.

In this age of information technology, it is hoped that the online Konkani Bible will be a great blessing to all Konkani speaking Christians around the world desiring to read the "word of God" in their mother tongue.

BANGALORE: Konkani Retreat - July 20-22, 2007

2007-07-17T15:41:00.000+05:30

3 Day Konkani Retreat at Renewal Retreat Centre (RRC) Bangalore

A 3-day Charismatic Retreat in Konkani will be held at Renewal Retreat Centre (RRC), Christ School Road, Near Dairy Circle, Bangalore 560029.

The retreat starts on Friday 20 July at 9.00 a.m and will end at 5 p.m. on Sunday 22 July. (On Friday and Saturday it closes at 06.00 pm.)

For those attending from outside Bangalore, lodging and boarding is available at RRC free of charge.

INDIA: Order Copies of "Summorum Pontificum"

2007-07-16T15:38:00.000+05:30

Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum

Order from PETRUS

The Apostolic Letter SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM of Pope Benedict XVI, given in the form "motu proprio", on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, is being published as a Supplement to the August 2007 issue of PETRUS. The Supplement contains:

a) the Apostolic Letter in English;
b) the original Latin text of the same Apostolic Letter, and
c) the Letter of Pope Benedict XVI to Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the same Apostolic Letter. Copies are available for those who want them in bulk.

When ordered by post (within India only):

1-10 Copies : Rs 6 per copy (including postage)
11-19 Copies : Rs 5 per copy (including postage)
20 Copies and above : Rs 3 per copy (including postage)

When collected directly from St Paul/Pauline Book Centres: Rs 3 per copy

Send your orders along with payment (DD, MO, favouring PETRUS) to:

PETRUS
58/23rd Road, TPS III, P.B. No. 9814
Bandra (W), Mumbai 400 050
E-mail: petrusmag@gmail.com

Summorum Pontificum - Explanatory Note

2007-07-09T00:16:00.000+05:30

Explanatory Note on Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum"

VATICAN CITY, JUL 7, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today issued an explanatory note concerning the Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum". The most important paragraphs of the note are given below:

"The Motu Proprio 'Summorum Pontificum' lays down new rules for the use of the Roman liturgy that preceded the reform of 1970. The reasons for such provisions are clearly explained in the Holy Father's letter to bishops which accompanies the Motu Proprio (the two documents have been sent to all the presidents of episcopal conferences and to all nuncios, who have arranged to distribute them to all bishops).

"The fundamental provision is as follows: the Roman liturgy will have two forms ('usus'):

"a) The ordinary form is the one that follows the liturgical reform undertaken by Pope Paul VI in the year 1970, as it appears in the liturgical books promulgated at that time. There is an official edition in Latin which may be used always and everywhere, and translations in divers languages published by the various episcopal conferences.

"b) The extraordinary form: which is that celebrated in accordance with the liturgical books published by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962."

In paragraph 8 the note reads: "The bishop of a particular place may erect a personal parish, wherever there is to be found a very substantial number of faithful who wish to follow the earlier liturgy. It would be appropriate for the numbers of faithful to be substantial, even if not comparable to those of other parishes."

The explanatory note also highlights some of the characteristics of the 1962 Missal:

"It is a 'complete' or 'integral' Missal in the Latin language, that is, it also contains the readings for the celebrations (it is not distinct from the 'Lectionary' as the later 1970 Missal is).

"It contains just one Eucharistic prayer, the 'Roman Canon' (corresponding to the first Eucharist Prayer of the later Missal, which includes a choice of various Eucharistic Prayers).

"Various prayers (including a large part of the Canon) are recited by the priest in a low voice inaudible to the people.

"Other differences include the reading of the beginning of the Gospel of John at the end of Mass.

"The 1962 Missal does not provide for concelebration. It says nothing concerning the direction of the altar or of the celebrant (whether facing the people or not).

"The Pope's Letter envisages the possibility of future enrichment of the 1962 Missal (inclusion of new saints, new prefaces, etc.)."

OP/MOTU PROPRIO/SUMMORUM PONTIFICUMVIS 070707 (430)

LIVE: Summorum Pontificum - Analysis, EWTN

2007-07-08T09:52:00.000+05:30

EWTN - The World Over Live Special

ANALYSIS OF MOTU PROPIO: SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM

Host Raymond Arroyo will discuss the newly- released papal document by Pope Benedict XVI widening use of the 1962 Roman Missal.

Guests include:

Most Rev. Fabian Bruskewitz, Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska
Monsignor James Moroney, Executive Director of the USCCB Secretariat for the Liturgy
Fr. Kenneth Baker, SJ, Editor of Homiletic & Pastoral Review
Most Rev. Thomas G. Doran, Bishop of Rockford, Illinois
Fr. George Gabet, FSSP, North American District Superior of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter

Tuesday July 10, 2007 06:30 IST

Watch it live!

Summorum Pontificum - English Translation

2007-07-07T17:54:00.000+05:30

MOTU PROPRIO "SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM"

English Translation

VATICAN CITY, JUL 7, 2007 (VIS) - Given below is a non-official English-language translation of the Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" of Pope Benedict XVI, "Summorum Pontificum," concerning the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970. The original text is written in Latin.

Up to our own times, it has been the constant concern of supreme pontiffs to ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty, 'to the praise and glory of His name,' and 'to the benefit of all His Holy Church.'

Since time immemorial it has been necessary - as it is also for the future - to maintain the principle according to which 'each particular Church must concur with the universal Church, not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by uninterrupted apostolic tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law of prayer corresponds to her law of faith.' (1)

Among the pontiffs who showed that requisite concern, particularly outstanding is the name of St. Gregory the Great, who made every effort to ensure that the new peoples of Europe received both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture that had been accumulated by the Romans in preceding centuries. He commanded that the form of the sacred liturgy as celebrated in Rome (concerning both the Sacrifice of Mass and the Divine Office) be conserved. He took great concern to ensure the dissemination of monks and nuns who, following the Rule of St. Benedict, together with the announcement of the Gospel illustrated with their lives the wise provision of their Rule that 'nothing should be placed before the work of God.' In this way the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many peoples in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety.

Many other Roman pontiffs, in the course of the centuries, showed particular solicitude in ensuring that the sacred liturgy accomplished this task more effectively. Outstanding among them is St. Pius V who, sustained by great pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books amended and 'renewed in accordance with the norms of the Fathers,' and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.

One of the liturgical books of the Roman rite is the Roman Missal, which developed in the city of Rome and, with the passing of the centuries, little by little took forms very similar to that it has had in recent times.

'It was towards this same goal that succeeding Roman Pontiffs directed their energies during the subsequent centuries in order to ensure that the rites and liturgical books were brought up to date and when necessary clarified. From the beginning of this century they undertook a more general reform.' (2) Thus our predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, St. Pius X (3), Benedict XV, Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII all played a part.

In more recent times, Vatican Council II expressed a desire that the respectful reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the needs of our time. Moved by this desire our predecessor, the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, approved, in 1970, reformed and partly renewed liturgical books for the Latin Church. These, translated into the various languages of the world, were willingly accepted by bishops, priests and faithful. John Paul II amended the third typical edition of the Roman Missal. Thus Roman pontiffs have operated to ensure that 'this kind of liturgical edifice ... should again appear resplendent for its dignity and harmony.' (4)

But in some regions, no small numbers of faithful adhered and continue to adhere with great love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms. These had so deeply marked their culture and their spirit that in 1984 the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, moved by a concern for the pastoral care of these faithful, with the special indult 'Quattuor abhinc anno," issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted permission to use the Roman Missal published by Blessed John XXIII in the year 1962. Later, in the year 1988, John Paul II with the Apostolic Letter given as Motu Proprio, 'Ecclesia Dei,' exhorted bishops to make generous use of this power in favor of all the faithful who so desired.

Following the insistent prayers of these faithful, long deliberated upon by our predecessor John Paul II, and after having listened to the views of the Cardinal Fathers of the Consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the help of God, with these Apostolic Letters we establish the following:

Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the 'Lex orandi' (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same 'Lex orandi,' and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church's Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church's 'Lex credendi' (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.

It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents 'Quattuor abhinc annis' and 'Ecclesia Dei,' are substituted as follows:

Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary.

Art. 3. Communities of Institutes of consecrated life and of Societies of apostolic life, of either pontifical or diocesan right, wishing to celebrate Mass in accordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1962, for conventual or "community" celebration in their oratories, may do so. If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to undertake such celebrations often, habitually or permanently, the decision must be taken by the Superiors Major, in accordance with the law and following their own specific decrees and statues.

Art. 4. Celebrations of Mass as mentioned above in art. 2 may - observing all the norms of law - also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.

Art. 5. § 1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church.

§ 2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held.

§ 3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages.

§ 4 Priests who use the Missal of Bl. John XXIII must be qualified to do so and not juridically impeded.

§ 5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the above permission.

Art. 6. In Masses celebrated in the presence of the people in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII, the readings may be given in the vernacular, using editions recognised by the Apostolic See.

Art. 7. If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 § 1, has not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes. If he cannot arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei".

Art. 8. A bishop who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission "Ecclesia Dei" to obtain counsel and assistance.

Art. 9. § 1 The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

§ 2 Ordinaries are given the right to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if the good of souls would seem to require it.

§ 3 Clerics ordained "in sacris constitutis" may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962.

Art. 10. The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with can. 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.

Art. 11. The Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", erected by John Paul II in 1988 (5), continues to exercise its function. Said Commission will have the form, duties and norms that the Roman Pontiff wishes to assign it.

Art. 12. This Commission, apart from the powers it enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of these dispositions.

We order that everything We have established with these Apostolic Letters issued as Motu Proprio be considered as "established and decreed", and to be observed from 14 September of this year, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, whatever there may be to the contrary.

From Rome, at St. Peter's, 7 July 2007, third year of Our Pontificate.

(1) General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, no. 397.

(2) John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," 4 December 1988, 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

(3) Ibid.

(4) St. Pius X, Apostolic Letter Motu propio data, "Abhinc duos annos," 23 October 1913: AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," no. 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

(5) Cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Motu proprio data "Ecclesia Dei," 2 July 1988, 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498.

Summorum Pontificum - Pope's Letter

2007-07-07T15:58:00.000+05:30

Letter of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to Bishops Around the World Introducing the Motu Proprio on the Use of the Roman Liturgy Prior to the Reform of the 1970

My dear Brother Bishops,

With great trust and hope, I am consigning to you as Pastors the text of a new Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" on the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970. The document is the fruit of much reflection, numerous consultations and prayer.

News reports and judgments made without sufficient information have created no little confusion. There have been very divergent reactions ranging from joyful acceptance to harsh opposition, about a plan whose contents were in reality unknown.

This document was most directly opposed on account of two fears, which I would like to address somewhat more closely in this letter.

In the first place, there is the fear that the document detracts from the authority of the Second Vatican Council, one of whose essential decisions – the liturgical reform – is being called into question. This fear is unfounded. In this regard, it must first be said that the Missal published by Paul VI and then republished in two subsequent editions by John Paul II, obviously is and continues to be the normal Form – the Forma ordinaria – of the Eucharistic Liturgy. The last version of the Missale Romanum prior to the Council, which was published with the authority of Pope John XXIII in 1962 and used during the Council, will now be able to be used as a Forma extraordinaria of the liturgical celebration. It is not appropriate to speak of these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were "two Rites". Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite.

As for the use of the 1962 Missal as a Forma extraordinaria of the liturgy of the Mass, I would like to draw attention to the fact that this Missal was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted. At the time of the introduction of the new Missal, it did not seem necessary to issue specific norms for the possible use of the earlier Missal. Probably it was thought that it would be a matter of a few individual cases which would be resolved, case by case, on the local level. Afterwards, however, it soon became apparent that a good number of people remained strongly attached to this usage of the Roman Rite, which had been familiar to them from childhood. This was especially the case in countries where the liturgical movement had provided many people with a notable liturgical formation and a deep, personal familiarity with the earlier Form of the liturgical celebration. We all know that, in the movement led by Archbishop Lefebvre, fidelity to the old Missal became an external mark of identity; the reasons for the break which arose over this, however, were at a deeper level. Many people who clearly accepted the binding character of the Second Vatican Council, and were faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them. This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear. I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church.

Pope John Paul II thus felt obliged to provide, in his Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei (2 July 1988), guidelines for the use of the 1962 Missal; that document, however, did not contain detailed prescriptions but appealed in a general way to the generous response of Bishops towards the "legitimate aspirations" of those members of the faithful who requested this usage of the Roman Rite. At the time, the Pope primarily wanted to assist the Society of Saint Pius X to recover full unity with the Successor of Peter, and sought to heal a wound experienced ever more painfully. Unfortunately this reconciliation has not yet come about. Nonetheless, a number of communities have gratefully made use of the possibilities provided by the Motu Proprio. On the other hand, difficulties remain concerning the use of the 1962 Missal outside of these groups, because of the lack of precise juridical norms, particularly because Bishops, in such cases, frequently feared that the authority of the Council would be called into question. Immediately after the Second Vatican Council it was presumed that requests for the use of the 1962 Missal would be limited to the older generation which had grown up with it, but in the meantime it has clearly been demonstrated that young persons too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, particularly suited to them. Thus the need has arisen for a clearer juridical regulation which had not been foreseen at the time of the 1988 Motu Proprio. The present Norms are also meant to free Bishops from constantly having to evaluate anew how they are to respond to various situations.

In the second place, the fear was expressed in discussions about the awaited Motu Proprio, that the possibility of a wider use of the 1962 Missal would lead to disarray or even divisions within parish communities. This fear also strikes me as quite unfounded. The use of the old Missal presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language; neither of these is found very often. Already from these concrete presuppositions, it is clearly seen that the new Missal will certainly remain the ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, not only on account of the juridical norms, but also because of the actual situation of the communities of the faithful.

It is true that there have been exaggerations and at times social aspects unduly linked to the attitude of the faithful attached to the ancient Latin liturgical tradition. Your charity and pastoral prudence will be an incentive and guide for improving these. For that matter, the two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching: new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal. The "Ecclesia Dei" Commission, in contact with various bodies devoted to the usus antiquior, will study the practical possibilities in this regard. The celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage. The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal.

I now come to the positive reason which motivated my decision to issue this Motu Proprio updating that of 1988. It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church. Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church’s leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity. One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden. This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to unable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew. I think of a sentence in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, where Paul writes: "Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return … widen your hearts also!" (2 Cor 6:11-13). Paul was certainly speaking in another context, but his exhortation can and must touch us too, precisely on this subject. Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.

There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place. Needless to say, in order to experience full communion, the priests of the communities adhering to the former usage cannot, as a matter of principle, exclude celebrating according to the new books. The total exclusion of the new rite would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness.

In conclusion, dear Brothers, I very much wish to stress that these new norms do not in any way lessen your own authority and responsibility, either for the liturgy or for the pastoral care of your faithful. Each Bishop, in fact, is the moderator of the liturgy in his own Diocese (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22: "Sacrae Liturgiae moderatio ab Ecclesiae auctoritate unice pendet quae quidem est apud Apostolicam Sedem et, ad normam iuris, apud Episcopum").

Nothing is taken away, then, from the authority of the Bishop, whose role remains that of being watchful that all is done in peace and serenity. Should some problem arise which the parish priest cannot resolve, the local Ordinary will always be able to intervene, in full harmony, however, with all that has been laid down by the new norms of the Motu Proprio.

Furthermore, I invite you, dear Brothers, to send to the Holy See an account of your experiences, three years after this Motu Proprio has taken effect. If truly serious difficulties come to light, ways to remedy them can be sought.

Dear Brothers, with gratitude and trust, I entrust to your hearts as Pastors these pages and the norms of the Motu Proprio. Let us always be mindful of the words of the Apostle Paul addressed to the presbyters of Ephesus: "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the Church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son" (Acts 20:28).

I entrust these norms to the powerful intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, and I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you, dear Brothers, to the parish priests of your dioceses, and to all the priests, your co-workers, as well as to all your faithful.

Given at Saint Peter’s, 7 July 2007

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

Summorum Pontificum - Motu Proprio - Latin Text

2007-07-07T15:40:00.000+05:30

LETTERA APOSTOLICA DEL SANTO PADRE BENEDETTO XVI "MOTU PROPRIO DATA" SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM SULL’USO DELLA LITURGIA ROMANA ANTERIORE ALLA RIFORMA DEL 1970

LITTERAE APOSTOLICAE

MOTU PROPRIO DATAE

BENEDICTUS XVI

Summorum Pontificum cura ad hoc tempus usque semper fuit, ut Christi Ecclesia Divinae Maiestati cultum dignum offerret, «ad laudem et gloriam nominis Sui» et «ad utilitatem totius Ecclesiae Suae sanctae».

Ab immemorabili tempore sicut etiam in futurum, principium servandum est «iuxta quod unaquaeque Ecclesia particularis concordare debet cum universali Ecclesia non solum quoad fidei doctrinam et signa sacramentalia, sed etiam quoad usus universaliter acceptos ab apostolica et continua traditione, qui servandi sunt non solum ut errores vitentur, verum etiam ad fidei integritatem tradendam, quia Ecclesiae lex orandi eius legi credendi respondet»1.

Inter Pontífices qui talem debitam curam adhibuerunt, nomen excellit sancti Gregorii Magni, qui tam fidem catholicam quam thesauros cultus ac culturae a Romanis in saeculis praecedentibus cumulatos novis Europae populis transmittendos curavit. Sacrae Liturgiae tam Missae Sacrificii quam Officii Divini formam, uti in Urbe celebrabatur, definiri conservarique iussit. Monachos quoque et moniales maxime fovit, qui sub Regula sancti Benedicti militantes, ubique simul cum Evangelii annuntiatione illam quoque saluberrimam Regulae sententiam vita sua illustrarunt, «ut operi Dei nihil praeponatur» (cap. 43). Tali modo sacra liturgia secundum morem Romanum non solum fidem et pietatem sed et culturam multarum gentium fecundavit. Constat utique liturgiam latinam variis suis formis Ecclesiae in omnibus aetatis christianae saeculis permultos Sanctos in vita spirituali stimulasse atque tot populos in religionis virtute roborasse ac eorundem pietatem fecundasse.

Ut autem Sacra Liturgia hoc munus efficacius expleret, plures alii Romani Pontifices decursu saeculorum peculiarem sollicitudinem impenderunt, inter quos eminet Sanctus Pius V, qui magno cum studio pastorali, Concilio Tridentino exhortante, totum Ecclesiae cultum innovavit, librorum liturgicorum emendatorum et «ad normam Patrum instauratorum» editionem curavit eosque Ecclesiae latinae usui dedit.

Inter Ritus romani libros liturgicos patet eminere Missale Romanum, quod in romana urbe succrevit, atque succedentibus saeculis gradatim formas assumpsit, quae cum illa in generationibus recentioribus vigente magnam habent similitudinem.

«Quod idem omnino propositum tempore progrediente Pontifices Romani sunt persecuti, cum novas ad aetates accommodaverunt aut ritus librosque liturgicos determinaverunt, ac deinde cum ineunte hoc nostro saeculo ampliorem iam complexi sunt redintegrationem»2. Sic vero egerunt Decessores nostri Clemens VIII, Urbanus VIII, sanctus Pius X3, Benedictus XV, Pius XII et beatus Ioannes XXIII.

Recentioribus autem temporibus, Concilium Vaticanum II desiderium expressit, ut debita observantia et reverentia erga cultum divinum denuo instauraretur ac necessitatibus nostrae aetatis aptaretur. Quo desiderio motus, Decessor noster Summus Pontifex Paulus VI libros liturgicos instauratos et partim innovatos anno 1970 Ecclesiae latinae approbavit; qui ubique terrarum permultas in linguas vulgares conversi, ab Episcopis atque a sacerdotibus et fidelibus libenter recepti sunt. Ioannes Paulus II, tertiam editionem typicam Missalis Romani recognovit. Sic Romani Pontifices operati sunt ut «hoc quasi aedificium liturgicum [...] rursus, dignitate splendidum et concinnitate» appareret4.

Aliquibus autem in regionibus haud pauci fideles antecedentibus formis liturgicis, quae eorum culturam et spiritum tam profunde imbuerant, tanto amore et affectu adhaeserunt et adhaerere pergunt, ut Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II, horum fidelium pastorali cura motus, anno 1984 speciali Indulto "Quattuor abhinc annos", a Congregatione pro Cultu Divino exarato, facultatem concessit utendi Missali Romano a Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 edito; anno autem 1988 Ioannes Paulus II iterum, litteris Apostolicis "Ecclesia Dei" Motu proprio datis, Episcopos exhortatus est ut talem facultatem late et generose in favorem omnium fidelium id petentium adhiberent.

Instantibus precibus horum fidelium iam a Praedecessore Nostro Ioanne Paulo II diu perpensis, auditis etiam a Nobis Patribus Cardinalibus in Concistorio die XXIII mensis martii anni 2006 habito, omnibus mature perpensis, invocato Spiritu Sancto et Dei freti auxilio, praesentibus Litteris Apostolicis DECERNIMUS quae sequuntur:

Art. 1. Missale Romanum a Paulo VI promulgatum ordinaria expressio "Legis orandi" Ecclesiae catholicae ritus latini est. Missale autem Romanum a S. Pio V promulgatum et a B. Ioanne XXIII denuo editum habeatur uti extraordinaria expressio eiusdem "Legis orandi" Ecclesiae et ob venerabilem et antiquum eius usum debito gaudeat honore. Hae duae expressiones "legis orandi" Ecclesiae, minime vero inducent in divisionem "legis credendi" Ecclesiae; sunt enim duo usus unici ritus romani.

Proinde Missae Sacrificium, iuxta editionem typicam Missalis Romani a B. Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 promulgatam et numquam abrogatam, uti formam extraordinariam Liturgiae Ecclesiae, celebrare licet. Conditiones vero a documentis antecedentibus "Quattuor abhinc annos" et "Ecclesia Dei" pro usu huius Missalis statutae, substituuntur ut sequitur:

Art. 2. In Missis sine populo celebratis, quilibet sacerdos catholicus ritus latini, sive saecularis sive religiosus, uti potest aut Missali Romano a beato Papa Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 edito, aut Missali Romano a Summo Pontifice Paulo VI anno 1970 promulgato, et quidem qualibet die, excepto Triduo Sacro. Ad talem celebrationem secundum unum alterumve Missale, sacerdos nulla eget licentia, nec Sedis Apostolicae nec Ordinarii sui.

Art. 3. Si communitates Institutorum vitae consecratae atque Societatum vitae apostolicae iuris sive pontificii sive dioecesani quae in celebratione conventuali seu "communitatis" in oratoriis propriis celebrationem sanctae Missae iuxta editionem Missalis Romani anno 1962 promulgatam habere cupiunt, id eis licet. Si singula communitas aut totum Institutum vel Societas tales celebrationes saepe vel plerumque vel permanenter perficere vult, res a Superioribus maioribus ad normam iuris et secundum leges et statuta particularia decernatur.

Art. 4. Ad celebrationes sanctae Missae de quibus supra in art. 2 admitti possunt, servatis de iure servandis, etiam christifideles qui sua sponte id petunt.

Art. 5, § 1. In paroeciis, ubi coetus fidelium traditioni liturgicae antecedenti adhaerentium continenter exsistit, parochus eorum petitiones ad celebrandam sanctam Missam iuxta ritum Missalis Romani anno 1962 editi, libenter suscipiat. Ipse videat ut harmonice concordetur bonum horum fidelium cum ordinaria paroeciae pastorali cura, sub Episcopi regimine ad normam canonis 392, discordiam vitando et totius Ecclesiae unitatem fovendo.

§ 2. Celebratio secundum Missale B. Ioannis XXIII locum habere potest diebus ferialibus; dominicis autem et festis una etiam celebratio huiusmodi fieri potest.

§ 3. Fidelibus seu sacerdotibus id petentibus, parochus celebrationes, hac in forma extraordinaria, permittat etiam in adiunctis peculiaribus, uti sunt matrimonia, exsequiae aut celebrationes occasionales, verbi gratia peregrinationes.

§ 4. Sacerdotes Missali B. Ioannis XXIII utentes, idonei esse debent ac iure non impediti.

§ 5. In ecclesiis, quae non sunt nec paroeciales nec conventuales, Rectoris ecclesiae est concedere licentiam de qua supra.

Art. 6. In Missis iuxta Missale B. Ioannis XXIII celebratis cum populo, Lectiones proclamari possunt etiam lingua vernacula, utendo editionibus ab Apostolica Sede recognitis.

Art. 7. Ubi aliquis coetus fidelium laicorum, de quo in art. 5 § 1 petita a parocho non obtinuerit, de re certiorem faciat Episcopum dioecesanum. Episcopus enixe rogatur ut eorum optatum exaudiat. Si ille ad huiusmodi celebrationem providere non potest res ad Pontificiam Commissionem "Ecclesia Dei" referatur.

Art. 8. Episcopus, qui vult providere huiusmodi petitionibus christifidelium laicorum, sed ob varias causas impeditur, rem Pontificiae Commissioni "Ecclesia Dei" committere potest, quae ei consilium et auxilium dabit.

Art. 9, § 1. Parochus item, omnibus bene perpensis, licentiam concedere potest utendi rituali antiquiore in administrandis sacramentis Baptismatis, Matrimonii, Poenitentiae et Unctionis Infirmorum, bono animarum id suadente.

§ 2. Ordinariis autem facultas conceditur celebrandi Confirmationis sacramentum utendo Pontificali Romano antiquo, bono animarum id suadente.

§ 3. Fas est clericis in sacris constitutis uti etiam Breviario Romano a B. Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 promulgato.

Art 10. Fas est Ordinario loci, si opportunum iudicaverit, paroeciam personalem ad normam canonis 518 pro celebrationibus iuxta formam antiquiorem ritus romani erigere aut rectorem vel cappellanum nominare, servatis de iure servandis.

Art. 11. Pontificia Commissio "Ecclesia Dei" a Ioanne Paulo II anno 1988 erecta5, munus suum adimplere pergit.

Quae Commissio formam, officia et normas agendi habeat, quae Romanus Pontifex ipsi attribuere voluerit.

Art. 12. Eadem Commissio, ultra facultates quibus iam gaudet, auctoritatem Sanctae Sedis exercebit, vigilando de observantia et applicatione harum dispositionum.

Quaecumque vero a Nobis hisce Litteris Apostolicis Motu proprio datis decreta sunt, ea omnia firma ac rata esse et a die decima quarta Septembris huius anni, in festo Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis, servari iubemus, contrariis quibuslibet rebus non obstantibus.

Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, die septima mensis Iulii, anno Domini MMVII, Pontificatus Nostri tertio.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

---

1 Institutio generalis Missalis Romani, Editio tertia, 2002, 397

2 Ioannes Paulus Pp. II, Litt. ap. Vicesimus quintus annus (4 Decembris 1988), 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

3 Ibid.

4 Pius Pp. X, Litt. Ap. Motu proprio datae Abhinc duos annos (23 Octobris 1913): AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cfr Ioannes Paulus II, Litt. ap. Vicesimus quintus annus (4 Decembris 1988), 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

5 Cfr Ioannes Paulus Pp. II, Litt. ap. Motu proprio datae Ecclesia Dei (2 iulii 1988), 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498.

INDIA: Cardinal Toppo on Tridentine Mass

2007-07-06T16:29:00.000+05:30

Liturgical Heritage is Church's Rich Treasure: Cardinal Toppo

New Delhi, July 04, 2007, 08.30 Hrs (CBCI News):

“The varied liturgical heritage is the Catholic Church’s rich treasure. All of us need to be proud of this invaluable legacy,” declared Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.

Cardinal Toppo was speaking to the executive secretary of the CBCI Commission for Social Communications, Fr Henry D’Souza today at the CBCI Centre, New Delhi.

Cardinal Toppo returned from Rome on June 30, after attending the specially held meeting of church leaders on allowing the celebration of the Tridentine Latin Mass.

Pope Benedict XVI is expected soon to issue his Motu Proprio (on his own initiative) allowing the celebration of the Tridentine Mass as an "extraordinary" form of the Latin rite.

The secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone convened the meeting of selected cardinals and bishops from different countries and bishops' conferences on June 27 in the Vatican.

Cardinal Toppo, as president of CBCI was one of the invitees to the meeting.

Pope Benedict XVI interacted with the participants during one of the sessions.

“If some of the faithful feel that they are enriched by celebrating a particular form of Catholic liturgy, wherever possible they should be allowed for pastoral reasons,” stated 66 year Cardinal Toppo.

“The Tridentine Latin Mass is not another rite, but it is the same rite which has come down to us as a God-given gift,” affirmed the first ever tribal Cardinal of India.

“The post-Vatican II Latin rite Mass is presently the normal, ordinary way of celebrating the Eucharist. The Church which neither condemns nor rejects any good gifts, would allow the Tridentine Latin Mass as an extra-ordinary form of celebration, especially for those who are attracted by it and desire it,” explained the Cardinal.

“The move is particularly of greater significance, because it tries to strengthen church’s unity. The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, inspired by the Holy Spirit is trying to accommodate everybody in pastoral charity,” affirmed Cardinal Toppo.

Cardinal Toppo hoped that the move would go a long way in reconciling some of the factions who moved away on the issue of liturgical reforms, particularly in Europe, leading to greater unity and witnessing to Christ.

INDIA: Essay Contest on Eucharist

2007-07-02T00:41:00.000+05:30

National Essay Contest

In preparation for the 49th International Eucharistic Congress

June 15-22, 2008, Quebec, Canada

Theme: "The Eucharist, God’s gift for the life of the world"

Aim: To highlight the great significance of the mystery of the Eucharist for the salvation and transformation of the world.

Eligibility

I. Catholic Students from STD VIII - X in Secondary Schools in India.

II. Seminarians, Religious Sisters and Brothers in India.

Prizes

I. Students: 1st Rs. 3000/-, 2nd Rs. 2000/- and 3rd Rs. 1000/-

II. Seminarians, Religious Sisters and Brothers: 1st Rs. 5000/-, 2nd Rs. 3000/- and 3rd Rs. 2000/-

Suggestions and References

Focus on spreading the message of the Congress.
The Eucharist as God’s gift.
The Eucharist as the New Covenant, the Eucharist and the Church, the Eucharist and the communion, unity and fellowship.
The Eucharist for the life of the world - a just and fraternal society, peace and freedom, elimination of poverty, hunger and disease.
The Eucharist - adoration and worship.
The Eucharist and personal life - as a way of life.
Relevance of the Eucharist to Indian social, religious and cultural situation.
The participants, however, have the freedom to develop the theme with creativity and imagination.

The following Church documents may be used as references:

The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Vat. II)
Stay with us, Lord (Pope John Paul II)
The Church from the Eucharist (Pope John Paul II)
Sacrament of Love (Pope Benedict XVI)

The above documents may be accessed at: www.vatican.va or www.cbcisite.com

The 49th International Eucharistic Congress website: www.cei2008.ca

Requirements

All the entries should be in English. Students’ entries to be within 2000 words and Seminarians’ and Religious Sisters’ and Brothers’ entries within 2,500 words.
The entries should be typed double-space only on one side of white foolscap paper with left and right margins.
All entries have to include writer’s full name and complete address of the school/seminary/religious congregation.

Entries to be sent on or before Sept. 30, 2007 to:

I. Students' Entries: Dr. Valerie D’Souza, C/o Diocesan Catechetical Centre, 4 Kane Road, Bandra, Mumbai - 400 050

II. Seminarians' and Religious Sisters' and Brothers' Entries: Fr. Erasto Fernandez, Provincial Superior, Eymard Cottage, 22, Matharpakady, Mazagaon, Mumbai - 400 010

Bishop Thomas Dabre
Bishop of Vasai & CCBI National Delegate to the Congress

Papal Decree on Tridentine Mass

2007-07-01T19:02:00.000+05:30

Forthcoming papal decree authorizes expanded use of Tridentine Mass, Vatican says

By Gerard O'Connell

6/29/2007

VATICAN CITY (UCAN) – According to the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI will, in a few days, authorize wider use of the Tridentine Mass as an "extraordinary" form of the Latin Rite.

A Vatican statement released on June 28 says the forthcoming Motu Proprio, a decree the pope issues "on his own initiative," will expand "the use of the Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962."

In 1969, Pope Paul VI suppressed that missal, which was issued on the eve of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), by promulgating a radically revised one that reflects Council-inspired changes, including the use of the vernacular.

Before becoming pope, Benedict XVI harbored serious reservations about that suppression. In the interview-book Salt of the Earth (1997), he says: "A community is calling its very being into question when it suddenly declares that what was its holiest and highest possession is strictly forbidden and when it makes the longing for it seem downright indecent." In his view, "the old rite should be granted much more generously to all who desire it."

He moved decisively in that direction late June 27 afternoon when he spoke to cardinals and bishops from 14 countries and seven bishops' conferences at a meeting held sub secreto (under secrecy) in the Vatican. He told them that his Motu Proprio will allow broader use of the missal promulgated by Pope John XXIII, which actually is a revised version of the Pius V Missal of 1570.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the secretary of state, convened the gathering aware that several episcopal conferences strongly oppose reinstating the Tridentine Mass on a wider scale. The cardinal invited representatives of some bishops' conferences and a small number of other bishops who favor the return of the old rite to attend.

Almost half the participants came from Europe: two each from Italy and France, and one each from Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Also attending were two from the United States, two from Africa and one from Asia. The Asian participant was Cardinal Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi, India, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.

Though nearly half the world's Catholics live in Latin American, the only representative from that region at the meeting was Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, 77, president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei."

The commission, which Pope John Paul II set up in 1988 to reconcile members of the Saint Pius X Society and the pope, strongly advocates reinstating the Pius V Missal, as John XXIII updated and revised it, to foster reconciliation.

The society's founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, went into schism in 1988 by ordaining four members of his society as bishops without papal approval.

Besides getting a copy of the Motu Proprio, participants received a letter Pope Benedict wrote to explain why he is issuing the decree. Some participants admitted it was hard to understand the Motu Proprio because it is in Latin.

Cardinal Bertone refuted media reports intimating that the papal decree will remove power from bishops in this matter. As the pope had done in his letter, the cardinal outlined three key reasons for issuing the document.

The first and main one is to ease the full communion and reconciliation of the St. Pius X Society with the pope. Suppression of the Tridentine Mass was a major reason for Archbishop Lefebvre and his followers to break with the pope.

The "Lefebvrites" also disagreed with much of what the Second Vatican Council taught about ecumenism and interfaith dialogue. The meeting's participants were given updated statistics on the Saint Pius X Society.

A second reason for the Motu Proprio is to enable "wider use" of the Tridentine Mass. Unlike the "ordinary form" approved by Paul VI in 1969, in the Motu Proprio, the Tridentine Mass is considered an "extraordinary" expression of the Latin Rite.

John Paul II authorized bishops to approve requests of people for the Tridentine Mass, but many bishops have refused to do so. Benedict, lobbied by traditionalists and basically sympathetic to them, devised the "extraordinary" form as a way to unblock the situation and accommodate those people.

The third reason for the Motu Proprio is to preserve "the treasures" of the Church's older culture, including Latin in the liturgy, and to integrate them into the contemporary culture.

Pope Benedict suggested in his nearly one-hour meeting with participants that if five or six Sunday Masses are offered in a diocesan cathedral, the bishop could designate one of them for celebration according to the John XXIII missal, if a sizable number of people ask for it.

All participants expressed their views at the meeting. Some saw the Motu Proprio as an expression of "pastoral charity," or a strong affirmation of "diversity in unity." By the end of the meeting, most indicated their basic acceptance of the text, but a few, like the French, still had reservations.

The Motu Proprio provides for a review of the situation in three years.

-Republished by Konkani Catholics with permission of UCA News (http://www.ucanews.com/).

Motu Proprio on 1962 Missal Discussed

2007-06-28T21:45:00.000+05:30

Meeting Discusses "Motu Proprio" On Use of John XXIII's Missal

VATICAN CITY, JUN 28, 2007 (VIS) - Given below is the text of a communique released today by the Holy See Press Office concerning Benedict XVI's forthcoming "Motu Proprio" on the use of the Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962.

"Yesterday afternoon in the Vatican, a meeting was held under the presidency of the Cardinal Secretary of State in which the content and spirit of the Holy Father's forthcoming 'Motu Proprio' on the use of the Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962 was explained to representatives from various episcopal conferences. The Holy Father also arrived to greet those present, spending nearly an hour in deep conversation with them.

"The publication of the document - which will be accompanied by an extensive personal letter from the Holy Father to individual bishops - is expected within a few days, once the document itself has been sent to all the bishops with an indication of when it will come into effect."
OP/MOTU PROPRIO/... VIS 070628 (180)

KUNDAPUR: Attack on Priest Condemned

2007-06-28T21:35:00.000+05:30

Karnataka Bishops Condemn Attack On Church Personnel In Kundapur, Huge Protest Rally Held

Kundapura, Karnataka, June 28, 2007, 9.30 Hrs (CBCI News/daijiworld):

KUNDAPUR: Protest Against Attack on Catholic Priest

Karnataka Regional Catholic Bishops' Council (KRCBC) has condemned the assault on a Carmelite priest and four other church personnel at Koteshwar near Kundapur in Udupi district on Monday June 25.

In a press note issued by the Council president Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore has said the attack is an attempt to provoke Christians who are a minority community and to disturb peace and harmony in the area.

The Karnataka Bishops’ Conference has appealed to the chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, deputy chief minister B S Yadiyurappa, leader of the opposition and home minister to take immediate action against the accused.

As reported earlier, on Monday Fr Sylvester Pereira and his companions had gone to a Hospital at Kundapur for treatment. Fr Sylvester was taken unawares when the youth attacked him with foul language and beat him in the hospital premises.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday June 27, thousands of people gathered at Shastri Circle in the Kundapura town to show solidarity with the victims of attack and to protest against the communal forces which were “bent to destroying the secular fabric of the undivided district of Dakshina Kannada.”

The protest was organized by like-minded organizations from the districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, witnessed a sea of people thronging in support of Fr Sylvester Pereira.

It was not only the gathering of Christians but even Hindu and Muslim brethren came together in huge number, in order to express their solidarity. It was a spontaneous protest rally where an aggressive assault on five innocent people including a priest was condemned.

The protesters included MLC Pratapchandra Shetty, former member of parliament I M Jayaram Shetty, former member of parliament Vinaykumar Sorake, Byndoor MLA Gopal Poojary, K Shankar of CPI (M), Rajashekhar of Human Rights Organization, Edwin Crasta, Kundapur Taluk Panchayat president Jyoti Putran, Udupi Zilla Panchayat vice-president Sharada Bijur, Udupi district Congress president M A Gafur, Shyamala Bhandary, ex-MLC Winifred Fernandes, Zilla Panchayat member Gerald Fernandes, Lancy D’Cunha, president of Catholic Sabha, Vicar General of Mangalore Msgr. Denis Moras Prabhu, Ananta Movadi, Harun Saheb, Jacob D’Souza, Carmelite Karnataka-Goa provincial Fr Dominic Vas, Kundapura dean Fr Antony Lobo and others.

KUNDAPUR: Fr. Sylvester OCD Assaulted

2007-06-26T21:03:00.000+05:30

A Carmelite Priest, 3 Brothers, A Layleader Attacked In Karnataka

Mangalore, June 26, 2007, 06.30 Hrs (CBCI News):

Fr. Sylvester Pereira OCD

A Carmelite (OCD) priest and 3 brothers belonging to the Karnataka-Goa Province, residing in the monastery, 'Carmel Ashram' at Katkere, Koteshwar, near Kundapura in Karnataka, and a local layleader were physically attacked by fanatic Hindu miscreants Monday, June 25.

Fr. Sylvester and the four other injured persons were taken to the government hospital for medical attention and later shifted to 'Chinmayi Hospital'. They are all under shock, after the traumatic experience of the day.

The superior of the community, Fr. Sylvester Pereira had gone to the 'Surgeon Hospital', along with a regent, Brother Joyson Saldanha, an aspirant, Brother John Pradeep and the cook, Mukunk Bhandary, for a medical check-up. They were all accompanied by a friendly neighbour, Mr Valerian D'Silva.

While they were inside the hospital awaiting for the doctor, 4 local miscreants belonging to a local communal organization, confronted the priest and brothers, verbally accusing them of converting people to Christianity.

Then Fr. Sylvester was caught by the collar, pulled down the stair, pushed to the ground and severely beaten with kicks and blows. The others who tried to intervene and protest, also became the victims of the violent attacks. In the process, Mr. Valerian even lost a few of his teeth.

With this commotion, people gathered around the spot, but the miscreants shoved them into a waiting autorickshaw and forcibly took them directly to the local police station. They complained that that the victims were caught them in the process of converting people.

Initially, the police believed their version and did not allow the helpless victims neither to seek help from others, nor to lodge their own complaint.

It’s only when the local parish priest Fr Anthony Lobo intervened and the local police circle inspector Valentine D'Souza arrived, the things began to fall in place.The assailants who understood they had no escape, confessed to their crime, but tried to excuse themselves under the pretext of mistaken identity of the priest. An FIR was lodged immediately against the assailants.

The provincial of the Karnataka-Goa province Fr Dominc Vas, responding to the incident stated, “In a Democratic and Secular country like India, incidents such as the one involving one of our priests and a few seminarians, is a blot on the legacy of communal harmony.”

“Various fathers and brothers belonging to our monastery, since it was founded in 1998, have been rendering yeomen service to the neighbourhood. They have never instigated communal passions nor incited violence. Actually the presence of our members has been appreciated by all the people in the vicinity,” stated the provincial superior.

Cardinal Ivan Dias - 25th Episcopal Anniversary

2007-06-20T16:52:00.000+05:30

Cardinal Ivan Dias marks the 25th anniversary of his ordination as Bishop

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Cardinal Ivan Dias the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and Grand chancellor of the Pontifical Urban University is celebrating the 25th anniversary of his ordination as a Bishop.

On 8 May 1982 Pope John Paul II appointed him Titular Archbishop of Rusubisir and Pro-Nuncio Apostolic to Ghana, Togo and Benin and on 19 June that same year in St Peter's he was ordained a bishop by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, the Pope's secretary of state.

Cardinal Dias will mark the anniversary with a special concelebration of the Eucharist at 6pm in the Chapel of Urban University. Together with the officials and staff of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples the Cardinal will thank God for these 25 years of service as a bishop and pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to pour out His gifts and sustain him in his task of guiding the evangelisation of peoples and Catholic missionary cooperation all over the world.

Ivan Dias was born in Bombay on 14 April 1936. He was ordained a priest in Bombay on the 8th December 1958. He studied at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy in Rome (1961-1964). He has a degree in Canon Law from the Pontifical Lateran University (1964).

In the same year 1964 he worked in the Secretariat of State to help prepare Pope Paul VI's visit to Bombay on the occasion of the International Eucharistic Congress.

Between 1965 and 1973 he was secretary at various Nunciatures in Europe, Asia, Africa. Between 1973 and 1982 he was Department Head in the Secretariat of State. On 8 May 1982 he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Rusubisir and Pro-Nuncio Apostolic to Ghana, Togo and Benin (1982- 1987) and ordained a bishop on 19 June that same year. Between 1987 and 1991 he was pro-Nuncio Apostolic to South Korea. Between 1991 and 1997 Apostolic Nuncio to Albania. On the 8 November 1996 he was appointed Archbishop of Bombay and installed as such on 13 March 1997. He was President Delegate at the 10th ordinary general assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2001.

Pope John Paul II created him a Cardinal on 21 February 2001 of the titular of the church of Spirito Santo alla Ferratella. On 20 May 2006 Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. (Fides)

UDUPI: Pilgrims Hurt as Bus Rams Into Truck

2007-06-13T18:32:00.000+05:30

UDUPI: Pilgrims Hurt as Bus Rams Into Truck

UDUPI June 13, 2007 (KCNews.org): Dozens of passengers including several pilgrims were hurt when the bus they were travelling in rammed into a truck from behind this afternoon on National Highway 17 at Brahmavar, near here.

According to those at the spot of the accident, the bus skidded on the rain-wetted road slope and hit the truck in front which had slowed down to turn left.

Most of the passengers on the local bus were pilgrims of Udupi, Perampalli, Udyavar and around returning after the annual festive celebrations at St. Anthony's Shrine, Kerekatte.

Flavy Arouza of Udyavara who was travelling in the same bus says she miraculously escaped unhurt despite sitting in the front. When she looked around she could see passengers bleeding from their nose, mouth, temples or head. The pilgrims were also heard invoking Jesus and Mary.

The injured were admitted in the nearby hospitals. No one is reported to be serious.

It was raining heavily at the time of the accident.

Two more accidents were reported at the spot the same day.

Earlier in the day, Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza of Mangalore escaped unhurt when his car met with an accident at Udyavar near here. He was travelling to celebrate the festive Mass at the same shrine. The Mass started an hour late at 11.30am

INDIA: Missionary Spirit Decreasing

2007-06-09T20:16:00.000+05:30

Vatican Official Notes Decreasing Missionary Spirit In Indian Church

June 8, 2007

BANGALORE, India (UCAN) -- A Vatican official and other Church people say the missionary spirit in the Indian Church has been declining, but an effective evangelization way to help reverse the trend is life witnessing.

At a colloquium held May 28-31 in Bangalore, southern India, Father Theodore Mascarenhas, who heads the Asia Desk at the Pontifical Council for Culture, offered this view. "Many priests and religious have conveniently forgotten their basic missionary vocation," the Vatican-based priest said.

Several Catholic missioners have no time for missionary work, he also said, because they get so "immersed" in establishing schools, colleges, hospitals and "business complexes," buildings that are let out to shops and offices.

According to Father Mascarenhas, a member of the Goa-based Society of Pilar, the "main threat" to the Church is "from within," and several participants told UCA News they agree with this assertion.

Tony D'Mello, a lay leader from Vasai diocese in western India, said today's missioners lack a "living role model." In the past, he noted, "we had several missioners from abroad who were burning with the passion of Christ. That is why we are Christians today."

In the layman's view, Protestant Churches in India attract more people than the Catholic Church because "our priests and nuns have hardly any time for missionary work." D'Mello also observed that most Church workers are now involved in schools, colleges, hospitals and other institutions.

Father Lawrence Lakra of Rourkela diocese in eastern India said that many young priests and nuns at first actually opt for missionary work. However, they begin doing education, social and health care services and eventually "get stuck as managers and directors" of the institutions in which they work.

Father Joseph Puthenpurackal, a Salesian from Shillong in northeastern India, said Catholic missioners are now more "conscious about what others say about them than what they are supposed to do."

The Church "cannot exist in isolation, but only in dialogue with others," the 68-year-old priest asserted. Being missionary, he said, does not mean "only preaching or converting people, but introducing Jesus to others." Even so, he said that he agrees "many of our institutions are closed to real evangelization" and engage only in educational and health services.

According to Father Chinnappa Sebastian, some Church-managed schools in his region of West Bengal in eastern India even refuse to teach catechism to their Catholic students, on grounds that most students are of other faiths. "What use is it to call them Catholic institutions when they do not spread Christian values?" asked the priest, who directs Baruipur diocese's Board of Education.

Father Mascarenhas later told UCA News the Church must not run schools if it cannot witness and give the message of Christ to students and parents. He said the message of Christ is love, and this cannot be negated "by any group."

He advised the colloquium participants, "Give love, preach love and be love yourselves, wherever you are." Stressing that the most powerful tool for "evangelization is witnessing," he said, "We should proclaim Jesus by our lives in schools, colleges and health centers if we want to call them Christian institutions."

The recent colloquium came in the wake of the 2006 Asian Mission Congress held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The Office of Evangelization of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) organized the meeting in Bangalore, along with the Commission for Proclamation of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India. The conference comprises Latin-rite bishops.

Reproduced by Konkani Catholics with permission from UCAN (www.ucanews.com)

VIDEO: Man Jumps at Pope

2007-06-07T11:06:00.000+05:30

Vatican security scare: man jumps at passing Pontiff

VIDEO: Man Tries to Jump on to Popemobile during
the Pope's public audience on June 6, 2007

Vatican, Jun. 6, 2007 (CWNews.com) - A young man attempted to jump into the "popemobile" carrying Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) to his regular weekly public audience on Wednesday, June 6. The man was subdued by Vatican security guards.

An unidentified man leapt over a crowd-control barrier as the Pope passed in his open vehicle. The guards surrounding the popemobile wrestled the man to the ground as the car passed.

Pope Benedict was unharmed, and it was not clear that he was aware of the commotion behind him. The Pontiff continued riding at the same pace, smiling and giving his blessing to the crowd.

There was no evidence that the man intended to harm the Pope. Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, later told reporters that the man seemed motivated by a desire for publicity.

Nevertheless the Wednesday incident drew attention to the growing concerns about security at papal events. Pope Benedict has consistently drawn enormous crowds for his weekly audiences, and thousands of people routinely surge toward the popemobile hoping for a closer look at the Pontiff. Vatican security officials have occasionally expressed concern about the Pope's indifference to questions about his personal safety.

The Pope generally circles St. Peter's Square before his public audience, with the popemobile looping through the crowd before bringing the Holy Father to the podium set up in front of the Vatican basilica. During the last years of his pontificate John Paul II had made that circuit in a customized vehicle with a bulletproof glass bubble, so that he could stand and be seen by the crowd without exposing himself to danger. Pope Benedict has chosen to make his appearances standing in an open vehicle.

The man who sought to jump into the popemobile on Wednesday was being held by Vatican officials later in the day. Informed sources at the Vatican said that the man appeared to be unstable.

News Courtesy: Catholic World News

Fr. Baptist, Udupi's New Episcopal Vicar

2007-06-05T15:45:00.000+05:30

Fr. Baptist Appointed Episcopal Vicar for Udupi

UDUPI, June 5, 2007 (KCNews.org): Rev Fr. Baptist Menezes has been named Episcopal Vicar for Udupi region comprising of Udupi, Kallianpur and Kundapur Deaneries (Varados) of Mangalore Diocese. He will take charge from July 7, 2007.

Fr. Baptist, director of Father Muller Charitable Institutions, Mangalore will take over the post from V. Rev. Dr. Valerian D'Souza (Sr) currently also serving as the Parish Priest of St. Lawrence Church, Moodubelle.

Konkani Catechism of the Catholic Church

2007-06-04T13:22:00.000+05:30

"Bhavaddtachem Dirvem" - Konkani Catechism of the Catholic Church

"Bhavaddtachem Dirvem" - Katolik Povitr Sobhechi Dotorn

The provisional Konkani translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Katolik Povitr Sobhechi Dotorn) was published by the Catholic Diocese of Karwar in the Great Jubilee Year, 2000.

In a message introducing the work, the then Bishop of Karwar, Most. Rev. William D'Mellow expressed his "ardent desire" that Church's Catechism "must reach at least each family in this diocese for study, reflection and practice", a desire that inspired that the Presbterium of the Diocese to take up the task of having the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) translated into Konkani, the local liturgical langauge of the people of Karwar.

This great task was achieved by the Parish Priest of Gund, Fr. Reginald Pinto, in association with a team of collaborators.

In presenting the Kannada-script Konkani Catechism "to the clergy, religious and lay faithful of our diocese", Bishop D'Mello expressed hope that "it will be in the hands of every Catholic family at the earliest."

Bl. Alphonsa's Canonization Cause Advances

2007-06-02T09:35:00.000+05:30

Way Cleared for Canonization of India's Blessed Alphonsa

June 2, 2007 (KCNews.org): Blessed Alphonsa of India is one of the two candidates whose way for canonization has been cleared by Pope Benedict XVI June 1, 2007.

In an audience granted to Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Congregation of Saints, June 1, 2007, the Holy Father approved a decree recognizing a miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Alphonsa, clearing way for her canonization as Saint.

The other candidate whose cause was similarly advanced is Blessed Narcisa de Jesus Martillo Moran (1833- 1869) of Peru.

Also recognized were the miracles and martyrdom of 127 candidates for beatification and the "heroic virtue" of 7 candidates who now await the recognition of a miracle for their beatification.

Poor Clare Nun, Blessed Alphonsa of the Immcualate Conception was born Anna Muttathupadathu in Kudamaloor, a rural village near Kottayam (Kerala, India) to Joseph and Mary Muttathupadathu on 19 August 1910.

Having lost her mother at a very young age, she was brought up by her maternal aunt and educated by an uncle who was a Priest. Often faced with health problems which eventually claimed her life on July 28, 1946, Blessed Alphonsa was known for her silent and cheerful suffering.

She was beatified on 8 February 1986 along with Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara through whose intercession she experienced a miraculous healing in 1936, by Pope John II at Nehru Stadium in Kottayam, Kerala during his Apostolic Pilgrimage to India.

Her canonization will make Blessed Alphonsa the second Indian to proclaimed a Saint, the first being Gonsalo Garcia of Bombay who was matryred by crucifixion on 5 February 1597 at Nagasaki, Japan and canonized by Pope Pius IX on 8 June 1862.

GOA: New Pastroal Year to Begin June 3, 2007

2007-06-02T09:16:00.000+05:30

GOA: Archbishop Ferrao to Inaugurate New Pastoral Year 2007-2008 Tomorrow

June 2, 2007 (KCNews.org): Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão will inaugurate the New Pastoral Year 2007-2008 at a Eucharistic celebration on Sunday, 3rd June 2007 at the Holy Trinity Church, Benaulim at 10 a.m.

The theme for the new Pastoral year is "Deva Utra Onnbhovan, Jezu Dixa Jivitani" ("Experience God's Word, Radiate Jesus in Life).

His Grace will also release on the occasion, three books reflecting the theme of the new Pastoral Year - "Gonvllik Chitt" (his Pastoral Letter) and other Prayers, "Devachea Utrachi Yatra", a booklet with the Second Vatican Council Document on the Word of God 'Dei Verbum' in English and Konkani. It will also contain aids to pray with the Bible as well as Teachings on the Gospels.

The third book, "The Inspiring Teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ" a picture Bible in simple language is aimed at those wanting to know more about Christ, especially children and people of other faiths.

The books will be available from the DCBA office, Pastoral Institute, Old Goa (Phone 2284296) after release.

Vatican-UAE Diplomatic Relations

2007-06-01T16:19:00.000+05:30

Diplomatic Relations with United Arab Emirates

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 2007 (VIS) - A communique made public today announced that the Holy See and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), "being desirous of promoting bonds of mutual friendship and of strengthening international cooperation, have decided by common accord to establish diplomatic relations at the level of apostolic nunciature on the part of the Holy See and at the ambassadorial level on the part of the United Arab Emirates, conforming to the rules fixed by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961."

The joint communique states that the agreement was signed on the part of the Holy See by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, and for the United Arab Emirates by Abdulaziz Nasser Al-Shamsi, ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the UAE to the United Nations.

A note attached to the communique recalls that the United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven independent emirates (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Al-Fujayrah, Ras al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al-Qaiwain) located along the central-eastern coast of the Arab peninsula, and has Abu Dhabi as its capital city. It has a surface area of 83,600 square kilometers and a population of more than four million including a large percentage (more than 70 percent) of foreign workers, mostly from other Middle Eastern countries, Pakistan, India, Philippines and Bangladesh. The official language is Arabic.

The majority of UAE citizens is Muslim, which is the official religion of State. "The constitution," the note reads, "affirms the principle of religious freedom and Christians are able to perform their public religious activities in churches and parish centers."

The United Arab Emirates forms part of the Apostolic Vicariate of Arabia which is under the pastoral care of Bishop Paul Hinder O.F.M. Cap. and has its headquarters in Abu Dhabi. "According to reliable estimates," the note continues, "there are more than a million Christians, mostly Catholics, of more than a hundred nationalities who contribute to the social wellbeing of the nation. There are seven churches in the country where Mass is celebrated in various languages and rites. The expectation exists that the authorities, who maintain cordial relations with the Catholic Church, will approve the building of new centers of worship. Various religious congregations offer educational services in seven schools."

OBITUARY: Fr. Henry D'Souza (59), Hyderabad

2007-06-01T10:38:00.000+05:30

Fr. Henry D'Souza (Hyderabad) Passes Away

June 1, 2007: Fr. Henry D'Souza, a senior priest of Hyderabad Diocese, passed away at 3.30pm at the Home for the Aged, Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh yesterday. He was 59.

Hailing from Bondel in Mangalore, Fr. Henry was ordained for Hyderabad Archdiocese on February 11, 1979 and served the the Archdiocese of Hyderabad in many capacities.

He was the parish priest of St. Mary's Church, Secunderabad, Holy Famiy Church, Trimulgherry and the Cathedral St. Joseph's Church, Hyderabad. He was also the Secretary to the Archbishop of Hyderabad, Secretary to Hyderabad archdiocese Social Service Society (HASSS) and the Chancellor of the archdiocese at the time of his death.

The Funeral Mass for Fr. Henry D'Souza will be at 3pm at St. Mary's Church, Secunderabad on June 3, 2007.

Fr. D'Souza underwent a kidney transplant four years ago and in April 2007 had one of his legs amputated due to gangrene. His health condition is said to have worsened upon returnig from visiting his ailing 97 year old mother about 4 months ago. The cause of his death however, is said to be acute diabetes.

Many people in Hyderabad will remember Fr. Henry for the selfless help that he rendered their families, especially in sponsoring the education of their children and often out of his own expenses.

Fr. D'Souza's mortal remains lies at the Home for the Aged in Secunderabad.

With inputs from Lawrence Monteiro, Hyderabad

GOA: List of Priest Transfers - 2007

2007-05-31T10:47:00.000+05:30

Transfer of Priests in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman - 2007

Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao has made the following appointments of priests in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman with effect from 1st June, 2007

INSTITUTIONS

Fr. Heinencio S. G. de Souza, Spiritual Director of the Seminary of Our Lady, Saligao-Pilerne.
Fr. Candido Fernandes, Professor of Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol
Fr. Afonso R. Menconça, Secretary of the Diocesan Commission for the Liturgy.
Fr. Daniel A. Pereira appointed Prefect of Discipline of Seminary of Our Lady Saligao-Pilerne.
Fr. Bolmax F. Pereira appointed Prefect of Discipline of Seminary of Our Lady Saligao-Pilerne.
Fr. Santana D'Souza, Procurator of the Patriarchal Seminary of Rachol.

PARISH PRIESTS

Fr. J. Armando A. C. da Gama e Souza to Chinchinim.
Fr. Jose Caetano D'Costa to Merces.
Fr. Jorge Pazzi Fernandes to Loutulim,
Fr. F. Matheus Fernandes e Rodrigues to Tivim.
Fr. D. Agnelo Mendes to Assagao.
Fr. Emidio M. I. Pinto to Guirim.
Fr. Roland S. Carvalho to Parra.
Fr. Rocklin P. D'Costa to Querim, and (Parochial Administrator) of Tiracol.
Fr. R. Eliseu Barreto to St. Jacinto.
Fr. Agnelo C. Rodrigues to Carmona.
Fr. Brito Fernandes to Utorda.
Fr. Raul T. Colaco to Goa Velha.
Fr. Santo Antonio Pereira to Shiroda.
Fr. Sebastiao Eusico L. Pereira to Neura.

PAROCHIAL ADMINISTRATOR

Fr. Jose Nicolau Rodrigues, o.f.m. Cap, to Sinquerim.
Fr. Saluzinho Fernandes, s.f.x., to Cabo de Rama.
Fr. Mario Luis Vas, to Quepem

CHAPLAINS

Fr. Erodiano F. Fernandes to Davorlim,
Fr. Jean R. da Cruz Fernandes to Carvota, Loutulim.
Fr. Agnelo Barnabe de Souza to Panzorconim.
Fr. John D'Silva to Telaulim.
Fr. C. J. Andrew M. J. Mascarenhas to Manora, Raia.
Fr. Antonio Oliveira to Carona, Aldona.
Fr. J. V. Francisco do R. Miranda, Cobravaddo, Calangute.

ASSISTANT PARISH PRIESTS

Fr. C. Alexandre Fernandes to Paroda.
Fr. Simon Barnabe Fernandes to Calangute.
Fr. Pedro C. Gama to Taleigao.
Fr. Tamatur Cardozo, s.d.b., to Tuem, and (Parochial Administrator) to Vaidongor.
Fr. Joao Fernandes to Aldona.
Fr. Francisco Jacinto Dias to Nuvem.
Fr. Francis X. Sunil de M. J. Fernandes to Colva.
Fr. Domingos Pereira to Velim.
Fr. Kennet Barreto Teles to Santa Cruz.
Fr. Marcelino Mariano de Souza to (St. John the Baptist) Benaulim.
Fr. Sebastiao J. Dias to (Holy Spirit) Margao.
Fr. Jose Gomes to (S. Bartolomeu) Chorao.
Fr. Blair Fernandes, o.f.m. Cap, to Chinchinim.
Fr. Joseph Fernandes, s.a.c., to Pernem.
Fr. Orlando Lopes, s.f.x., to Anjuna.

ON THE STAFF

Fr. Macedonio da Costa to Our Lady of Grace Margao.
Fr. M. R. Oscar Coutinho e Quadros to Mapusa.
Fr. Dominic P. S. da Costa to Navelim,

OTHERS

Fr. Manuel Ubaldo Dias, Administrator of the Tribunal of the Archdiocese.
Fr. Domnic Alvares, s.f.x., as in-charge of Satari Mission Project, Birondem Unit.

RELIEVED FROM SERVICE

Fr. Geraldo A. A. De Costa, PP of Chinchinim.
Fr. Nevel L. S. Gracias, PP of Utorda.
Fr. Protasio R. I. Soares Colaco, Chaplain of Davorlim.
Fr. Amandio A. da Costa, Chaplain of Carvota - Loutulim.
Fr. Valmiki do S. C. de J. F. Gonsalves Dias, Chaplain of Manora.
Fr. Simon Rodrigues, m.s.f.s. Asst. PP of Valpoi.
Fr. Anthony Alemao s.d.b. Asst. PP of Tuem, and (Parochial Administrator) from Vaidongor.
Fr. Custodio Fernandes, s.f.x. Asst. PP of Canaguinim, and (Parochial Administrator) from Cabo de Rama.
Fr. Edson A. Fernandes Asst. PP of Chorao, in order to do higher studies in Rome.
Fr. George Dias Asst. PP of (Grace) Margao, in order to do higher studies in Rome.
Fr. John Thomas Fernandes, o.f.m. Cap, from Sinquerim.
Fr. Henry D'Souza, s.f.x., from Cabo de Rama.
Fr. Jacinto R. Rodrigues from S. Jacinto.
Fr. Glen D'Silva, s.f.x., of in-charge of Satari Mission Project, Birondem Unit.
Fr. Rosario Oliveira of Administrator of the Tribunal of the Archdiocese.

The following assistant parish priests, in order to do the Pastoral Course at Old Goa, from July 2007 to April 2008

Fr. Edward Costa from Aldona,
Fr. Agnelo Gomes from Canacona,
Fr. Socorro Colaco from Candolim,
Fr. Ryan A. C. Estibeiro from Colva,
Fr. F. Savio de Souza from Fatorda,
Fr. Leslie B. Rego from Macazana,
Fr. Trindade J. Monteiro from (Grace) Margao,
Fr. Camilo Dias from Navelim,
Fr. Leenoy Dias from Panjim,
Fr. Jeronimo Fernandes from Paroda,
Fr. Mariano J. Dias from Taleigao,
Fr. Arvino Fernandes from Tollecanto,
Fr. Francis Pereira from Aquem.

INTERVIEW: Oscar Fernandes, Mangalore

2007-05-31T10:33:00.000+05:30

May 30, 2007

UCAN Interview - 'My Faith Sustains Me In Politics'

MANGALORE, India (UCAN) -- Compromising one's values will not advance one's political life much, according to Oscar Fernandes, a successful Catholic politician in India.

The 66-year-old federal minister from Mangalore, in the southern state of Karnataka, says his Catholic faith has sustained him during his 35 years in politics.

During that time, he has guided his Congress party as its national general secretary. Recently, he shared with UCA News how he lives his Catholic faith as an Indian politician. The interview follows:

UCA NEWS: What motivated you to enter politics?

OSCAR FERNANDES: It was my Catholic faith that motivated me. I was one of 12 children in my family, and I grew up with a strong Catholic background. As a child I was an altar boy, and as a youth I was active in Church activities. This active involvement with the Church really helped me to think bigger and get into politics. Moreover, I had over a dozen votes in my house itself (he laughs).

As a public figure, do you see yourself more as a Catholic or a politician?

I am both. I never separate my Catholic identity from politics. My faith is personal, and I never had to sacrifice my Catholic identity in politics. However busy I was, I never missed my family prayers, although I miss Sunday Mass sometimes. I believe that my religious identity is more a being and living, and it has been inseparable from my public life.

Has being a Catholic in a predominantly Hindu country helped your political life?

I feel, yes. India is a great nation with secular ideals. Here people do not discriminate against you in the name of religion; only politicians do. People are carried away by how you live your religious and personal life, rather than which god you believe in. I never hide my religious identity anywhere and never felt let down because of this. In fact, political life has been smooth and progressive because I believe in Jesus.

Who is Jesus for you?

Jesus has been a hero for me. He has been the greatest public servant, a revolutionary leader and selfless social activist. He is my role model and motivator. My religion believes in giving rather than receiving, sharing rather than bearing, and helping rather than being helped. I believe my political career was a special call and vocation for me.

Politics and politicians are generally disliked. How can you make a difference in Indian politics?

I believe in witnessing rather than preaching. I hardly preach Christianity, but the people of India know that I am a Christian. They see me praying, they see me happy and content, and they know that I love them. My principles are based on Christian values and I live them. I came into politics in 1972 by winning municipal council elections, and ever since I have lived a Catholic life and political career.

Christians are, by and large, apathetic about politics. But of late, thanks to the efforts of Catholic Sabha (council), hundreds of Catholics have contested panchayat (village council) elections and won. Quite a number of Catholics from various states have also come into national politics. So their thinking is changing.

What is Catholic Sabha? What were its objectives and what has it done so far?

I was one of the founders of (Mangalore diocese's) Catholic Sabha, which has completed some three decades. It was started to protest an anti-conversion bill introduced in parliament in 1979. Later, it became one of the strongest Catholic lay movements. It has provided a platform for many Catholics to enter politics. It has helped many youths to get into civil service, encouraged Catholics to contest panchayat elections and get involved in other social-service activities. We now manage a special school and rehabilitation center for mentally retarded children. Though I am more active in national politics, I have never ignored the Catholic Sabha, my first step in politics.

What are the challenges a committed Christian faces in politics?

It is embarrassing to be amid politicians who believe in mere politics and compromise without scruples to further their political future. But I have neither compromised my Catholic identity nor sacrificed the values I inherited from my devout parents. And those values have been my strength. In politics, if you do not assert your identity, you will get nowhere.

Christians now face persecution in India. As a Catholic minister, how do you respond to this?

I think Christians are luckier and safer in India than in any other country. Indians are so accommodating and hospitable. India has welcomed and supported different religions and faiths. How can we say India is a bad place for Christianity? The problem is politically motivated and never culturally rooted. It is caused by aggressiveness from both sides -- politicians looking for an issue for vote banks and some Christians acting like a politician to push their faith. Both are not correct.

Christianity has to spread through Christian witnessing rather than street preaching. I survived in Indian politics for the past three decades as a practicing Catholic. I was never persecuted for my faith.

You always appear in public with your wife, never alone. Does this ever hinder you?

It is never a bother, but my strength. We have been married for 25 years and never have we stayed separately. She is with me in all my success and failures, good days and bad days. Is it not Christian witness?

I am what I am because of my parents and I want my children also to say that. So we are together and we nurture our children with a good Catholic background. Children will get settled and they will go. But a wife can never leave like that. I believe if we are successful in our family life, we will be successful everywhere. And if we pray together and are strong in our faith, we can move mountains.

MANGALORE: Advocate Melvin Noronha Christian Marriage Registrar

2007-05-30T09:24:00.000+05:30

Karnataka Govt. Appoints Advocate Noronha As Registrar Of Christian Marriages

MANGALORE, Karnataka -- Melvin P. Noronha, a leading advocate of Mangalore, has been appointed the Registrar of Christian marriages in South Kanara, by the Karnataka State government.

Forty-year-old Noronha represents many diocesan institutions and religious congregations in the diocese and is very active in social and Church spheres. He is the founder-president of the Cordel unit of the Catholic Sabha, a lay organisation working for the betterment of the Catholic community in the diocese.(SAR)

MUMBAI: BCS Opposes SEZ at Uttan-Gorai

2007-05-30T09:21:00.000+05:30

Bombay Catholic Sabha Supports 'No SEZ At Uttan-Gorai' Campaign

MUMBAI, Maharashtra (May 29, 2007) -- Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS), an influential Christian rights organisation, has openly opposed the setting up a special economic zone (SEZ) at Uttan-Gorai area here.

At a public rally held May 25 at Salvation Seva Kendra, the BCS supported the people of Utan-Gorai in their fight against the SEZ being planned in their area for the development of tourism and entertainment.

The various aspects of the proposed zone, the possible ill effects it would have on the people, the environment and the cultural heritage were highlighted at the rally.

BCS president Dolphy D’Souza welcoming the gathering said that the “actual understanding of SEZ is ‘Special Exploitation Zone’.”

He assured the residents of Uttan-Gorai the full support of BCS in their struggle and offered “all help”. There cannot be any development on the debris of humanity, he said, adding that the Sabha would arrange a meeting of Christian residents of the area with the Church authorities to enlist their support for the cause.

He said the Sabha units would start an awareness drive and collection of signatures to protest against the SEZ, besides displaying “We oppose SEZ” stickers.

President of Dharavi Beth Bachav Samiti, Joseph Gonsalves, spoke of the plight of the people in the 10 villages that would be affected by the proposed project -- seven of which are predominantly Catholic and three predominantly Hindu.

The project would ruin the lives of many people and “it would be the first instance of our own elected representatives displacing us and making a ‘foreign’ settlement within the State. The SEZ, he said, would lead to disintegration of the community economically, spiritually and socially and would put into oblivion the haven of rest and recreation for many of the citizens who used these areas to de-stress at the weekend.

Noted writer and environmentalist, Darryl D’Monte, drew parallels with similar movements of the past and the success stories of those groups who challenged the development and managed to retain their identity, culture and society.

Surekha Dalvi from the National Association of People’s Movement said the SEZ proposal was more than a local issue and was essentially a national problem, which called for a people’s movement against the special zones across the country.

Every political party was supporting SEZs and took just two days to get the draconian Act approving such zones passed, she said. (SAR)

My Testimony - Valerian Dalmaida

2007-05-29T19:29:00.000+05:30

The Grace of Divine Intervention

From Desperation to Everlasting Hope

By Valerian Dalmaida

I am a Catholic from South India, born in 1960, in a family of staunch Catholic faith, hardworking, graceful and God was with us all the time. From my childhood I loved Jesus and Mother Mary. Everyday early morning and evening prayers at home, Angelus, Rosary, singing hymns. I was active in all church activities right from my childhood. After graduation, I was in Bombay between 1980 and 1983, for my article training in Chartered Accountancy. In those three years along with studies and work, I gained lot of worldly knowledge both good and bad; away from home I learnt all bad habits, but intelligent I was, I qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1988 besides having a very good practice, assets and properties at the age of 28. In 1989, I got married to Blanch and by God’s grace I received two children both boys one in 1992 and another in 1993.

My intelligence, qualification, money and recognition at a young age made me very proud, I remained a Sunday Christian and at the same time participating all the rituals and religious practices of other religions and acknowledging in the process that "ALL GODS ARE SAME". Life had up and downs, I was in Middle East with my family, earned good money, returned to India after a stay of 5 years, set up better offices back at home for own practice and consultancy. World was beautiful; smoking, drinking, late nights, parties, recognition, name, salutes, money and all worldly things, you name it, I had it.

1998 saw the software boom in India. Caught up with this boom, I set up a public limited company for software development and related business. The private placement of shares brought in a lot of money, activities were in full swing, good business, by the beginning of 2000, the company set up its full pledged software development centre at Bangalore and branches in five cities of Karnataka. In total 113 people working, a monthly expenditure of over USD 22,000; I was really busy, no church, no mass, no prayers, no rosary, away from family, always busy and on top of all this, I started criticizing Catholics, priests and nuns, I used them for inauguration of offices only with the aim of publicity and marketing of the company products.

Public Issue was planned, approved by SEBI and everything was perfectly going until November 2000, when software public issues had no response, I could not bring out the issue, I needed money for development, I wanted the show to go on. The pride in me, was so much that I started borrowing by mortgaging my assets, personal loans from banks, jewels, fixed deposits and even pledging my wife’s salary. In 8 months, the debt to banks and suppliers was to the tune of USD 250,000. Yes, I reached to a point from where there was no return. For the first time I was feeling the ground under my feet was swiping away. I found myself a pauper, penniless, rationing for food at home, from abundance to nothing, children starving, no money for school fees, not even to buy a chocolate, borrowing for the very existence.

"Do My work, I will do yours"

May 17, 2001, 9.30 in the night, one of our software engineers flying to Singapore on a credit ticket and credit foreign exchange, not knowing what is the position of the company and the owner. Coming out of my office, no vehicle, my life was gloomy, thinking of such a huge debt, I had made up my mind to suicide, and I was walking, not knowing where, either to be hit by a running vehicle or ultimately to walk on the railway track. Yes, I was walking, in tears, desperate, thinking about my qualification, wife, children, mother, brothers and sister, where I was? How I was? How I became? And, I was passing through the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, alone, sobbing and was "HELPLESS". For the first time, after two and half years, standing on the road, as if for the last time, looking at the cross on top of the Church, I uttered without my knowledge THREE words : "JESUS, SAVE ME." And, Alas! In that darkness, I saw a bright light coming from the cross towards me, so bright, I could not see it, I took off my eyes, I lifted my right hand and covered my face and lo, I felt the touch of a hand, my right hand was held tightly by another hand, I heard a voice "DO MY WORK, I WILL DO YOURS." I could not understand, what was happening to me, a total renewal, and my steps were towards my house and alone in the house, and I could not sleep. I was crying, in fact, sobbing like a little child, my entire life since my childhood came in front of me in flashes; it was like I was seeing in a mirror, all my past life. This continued till 5.30 in the morning. I could not sit and I washed my face and ran to the same church for the morning mass, after two and half years.

"Give thanks in all circumstances"

When the mass began, Again, the same voice, speaking to me: "Valerian, read 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 17, 18." This continued during the whole mass. I came out of the Church, I didn’t know, that there are 2 letters of St.Paul to the Thessalonians. I asked one of my friend to read the bible for me for 1Thessalonians 5:16-18. And he read it for me "REJOICE ALWAYS, PRAY CONSTANTLY, GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES; FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST JESUS FOR YOU."

Since that day, till today, the Holy Spirit is guiding my steps to the Eucharist daily morning. I came back to the Lord, unknowingly, what a renewal, a "U" turn; I could understand the scriptures more beautifully, each word of the Lord, so loving and life giving. God showered with so many spiritual blessings, the gift of faith and the gift of word of knowledge, there was peace in my heart and I could feel the Kingdom of God is within me. I attended a retreat by Rev. Fr. Augustine Vallooran VC, of Divine Retreat Centre, Potta, in December 2001 in my home town, I had a confession, and during adoration, I saw the same bright light which I saw earlier from the cross, from the Holy sacrament coming into my heart. Ah, what a tremendous love, I was surrounded by the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The worries, court cases, police cases, waiting in the courts and police stations, criminal cases and warrants for cheque bouncing, no vehicle, no money, walking miles together, the Lord was with me, I was thanking Him, in complete faith, accepting and surrendering to His will. Jesus is living, I could feel him, and I could talk to Him. Yes, he took me for a retreat to Potta in January 2002. I received the gift of tongues and Jesus, revealed me how to pray in my personal prayer. In May 2002, once again, Holy Spirit guided me to another retreat with my wife and two sons. During the week long retreat, all of us received the gift of prayer. On returning from Potta, a visit visa to the Middle East was waiting for me. I thanked the Lord, I left India, in fact, I had to escape, and that was how God told me. Triune God, was leading me, feeding me, within 30 days of landing in this foreign country, God gave me a job according to our needs. I have repaid more than USD 320,000 loan in the past 5 years. God is using me for his kingdom, He is faithful, He keeps His promise, He made me his powerful instrument of faith, and I am spreading the light of Christ and the love of God to those I meet.

Praise the Lord!

She Begged For Alms And Crowned Mother Mary

2007-05-28T16:39:00.000+05:30

She Begged For Alms And Crowned Mother Mary

Picture of Thangamma

BANGALORE, May 28, 2007 -- Pilgrims to the 25-year-old Shrine of Mother of Mines in Kolar Gold Fields, Karnataka, were in for a big surprise when 76-year-old Thangamma announced her gift of a Rs-65,000 gold crown for the miraculous statue of Mother Mary.

Thangamma won no lottery. It was the alms she received begging for the last 30 years at the Shrine of Mother of Mines in the mining town of KGF, 90 kilometres from Bangalore.

Thangamma is stone blind in her left eye. Her right eyesight is fading, too. But her faith has not failed even in the darkest moments of her life. "I was Muniamma when I came to KGF 31 years ago. It was the good Father John Solomon who baptised me and I took the name Thangamma (Mother of Mines)," she recalls, even as she vividly recollects the many priests who served at the church.

Shrine of Mother of Mines at Kolar Gold Fields (KGF)

Though blessed with four sons and four daughters, she was abandoned by them and her husband and in-laws when she chose to embrace Christianity. "There was a lot of opposition from all sides when they came to know that I wanted to become a Christian… My children began acting rude with me. One of my sons even punched me in the eye," she said with abject grief.

"One by one, they all deserted me. Life was a lonely and painful journey but as I began begging at the chapel of Our Mother of Mines, I began to feel a kind of peace that I never experienced before in my life. I used to spend much time looking at the statue of Mother Mary. She was real to me. She became part of my life. She became my greatest comfort and I decided never to leave the portals of the Chapel."

Father P. Arockiadoss, the first diocesan priest from the parish testifies: "From my early childhood, I used to observe Thangamma always present in the church. I doubt she ever missed a single Mass; she was always found in the chapel either sweeping or mopping the floor or dusting the benches or decorating Our Lady’s statue with flowers."

Thangamma continues with the same routine and is able to strike a conversation with almost anyone.

"When the mines were functioning, many Britishers used to give me good alms."

Now, on Sundays, Thangamma makes a collection of rupees hundred or more. "Some pilgrims sometimes give me a blue note (100 rupees) she says with a broad toothless grin."

Thanks to the generosity of the Vincent de Paul Society-run Home for the Aged in the parish vicinity, Thangamma stays there and gets her daily meals.

Already in her third quarter, hale and healthy Thangamma says, "I will live many more years because I have to beg and buy a gold chain next, for my Mother," she says, tearfully pointing to the statue of Our Lady in the shrine. (SAR)

MUMBAI: Gospel Music Concert - June 2007

2007-05-28T15:06:00.000+05:30

Gospel Music Concert at Mumbai on June 3, 2007

Torchbearers for Christ / Lilly of the Valley Youth Cell (Mira Road) will presents Rejoice 2007, An evening of Live Gospel Music at St. Joseph's Church Ground Mumbai on June 3, 2007.

Details of the event are as follows:

Venue: St. Joseph Church Ground, Sheetal Nagar, Mira Road (E)
Date: Sunday, 3rd June, 2007
Time: 6.00 pm onwards

Entry to the Concert is free.

MANGALORE: Concetta Hospital Opens New OPD Block

2007-05-27T12:26:00.000+05:30

Mangalore Concetta Hospital Opens New OPD Block

New Delhi, May 27, 2007, 11.00 Hrs (CBCI News):

Concetta Hospital, Kinnigoli, near Mangalore opened it’s new Out Patients Department (OPD) on May 26, 2007, on the occasion of the inauguration of the Golden Jubilee Year of it’s foundation.

Superior General of the congregation of the Little Flower of Bethany Sr Jyothi, B.S. inaugurated the newly built Out Patient Department of the hospital, which was blessed by the vicar forane of Kinnigoli Deanery Fr Patrick Rodrigues.

The superior general congratulated the Director of Concetta Hospital, Sr Lilian, B.S. and her team for excellent health care provided by the hospital.

Earlier, Msgr. Denis Prabhu, vicar general of Mangalore Diocese celebrated the thanksgiving Eucharist in the Immaculate Conception Church, Kinnigoli.

Started by Fr. Jacob Lobo in 1958 to provide medical facilities for the people of Kinnigoli and the surrounding villages, the hospital has gown in size and stature.

“The child was born. ‘Will it survive?’ was the question of many. By the hard work of Fr. Jacob Lobo and the labour of love of many a person of good will, the child grew up steadily and is currently at the threshold of its Golden Jubilee,” recalled the hospital administrator, Sr Lelian, B. S.

In the beginning the Hospital comprised 12 beds. The Maternity Block with 6 beds was inaugurated in 1962. Today, the hospital has 75 beds and 24 Hour emergency facilities.

Due to the lack of transport facilities in the area, the need for mobile clinics was felt. Hence mobile clinic services were started in Neerude, Damaskatte, Niddodi, Balkunje & Kateel in 1971.

On 26.08.1986, the management of the hospital was handed over to the Bethany Congregation.

Nursing Aid Course was started in the year 1982. About 150 students have successfully completed the course and are employed here as well as other hospitals. There are 15 students in the current year.

Considering the need of preventive and promotive health, the hospital extended the health services to the community through the Community Health Project from the year 1995, which covers 25 neighbouring villages.

In 1987, a full-pledged Operation Theatre started functioning. Various types of surgeries are performed by efficient surgeons in the Theatre. During the year 2006 nearly 400 surgeries were performed.

In 1992, the Maternity Block was extended. In 1998 the maternity services were upgraded with ultrasound facilities. During the last year, i.e., 2006 nearly one thousand scans (obstetric & general) were performed. There is a gradual increase in the number of deliveries. In 2005 there were 460 deliveries and in 2006 the number increased to 520. A better fetal monitoring machine called NST Machine (non stress test) was donated by Dr. Ann Eline from Germany in the year 2005.

In the year 2002 new Emergency Block was built with modern emergency facilities. In the successive years the old building was renovated with additional Special Rooms and Semi Special Rooms, which attracts many more patients to the hospital.

Homeopathy Consultation has been made available for the patients twice a week by experts from Fr. Muller Homeopathy Medical College.

Through CBCI Health care and CODP, Concetta Hospital is actively involved in the detection of HIV/AIDS patients through VCTC Programme. The tests are conducted free of cost. In the past 1½ year 900 patients are tested for HIV/AIDS and 34 patients were detected to be positive. When HIV/AIDS patients are admitted to the hospital, they are treated without any discrimination.

The hospital has outpatient services, inpatient services (50 beds, 6 Special Rooms & 10 Semi Special Rooms, Male & Female General Wards), maternity services (16 beds) and 24- hour emergency services.

Besides, X-ray, ECG, Laboratory services, treatment for snake bite, Ultrasound Facility, Ambulance Service and mmmunization for neonates, infants & children.

The hospital attends to sick calls in the homes according to the need.

Specialists visit the hospital on a regular basis. Gynaecology, Paediatric, Orthopaedic, Medical, Surgical, Dermatology & Sonology are some of the specialist consultations available in the hospital.

Sr. Lelian took over as the first Bethany Director of the hospital in 1986. Since that time, till date she has been captaining the ship responsibly.

"Since then, the Concetta Hospital has been steadily growing and effectively carrying out all the activities in the field of medical service and integrated community health programme," said Sr Jyothi

KARNATAKA: Four Catholic Colleges Granted Autonomy

2007-05-24T14:35:00.000+05:30

Four Catholic Colleges Granted Autonomy

Mangalore, May 24, 2007 10.07 Hrs (CBCI News):

The Karnataka Government has given autonomy to four Catholic colleges affiliated to Mangalore University. The institutions are: St. Aloysius College, St. Agnes College, St. Ann's College of Education and Roshni Nilaya School of Social Work.

The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) has credited the 87-year old St. Agnes College with “Five Star” and the 127-year old St. Aloysius College with “A” Grade.

The St. Ann's College of Education, which offers B.Ed., M.Ed. has received five-star grade.

Jesuit Father Swebert D'Silva, principal of St. Aloysius College, said that the college was fully prepared to switch over to the autonomous system from the academic year 2007-08.

St Aloysius College is located in the heart of Mangalore situated on the top of Light House Hill with a magnificent view of the Arabian Sea. It offers Graduate and Post-Graduate Diploma and Ph.D. programmes in a wide variety of subjects in Humanities, Sciences, Commerce and Management. The college also teaches Pre-University courses in Science, Commerce and Arts.

The college traces its origins to 1880 when some European Jesuits who had landed in Mangalore three years earlier put up a college for the education of Catholic youth.

St. Agnes College was started as a center of learning in higher education since 1920. Students from Mangalore and from other districts of Karnataka and Kerala are the major student population who flock in to the portals of this college.

There is also an inflow from the gulf countries to pursue courses in Business Management, B.Com, Computers and Micro Biology. Since recent times students from other parts of the country especially Mumbai and Bangalore are also seeking admission to St. Agnes College.

“What characterizes St. Agnes College as a unique institution is its inbuilt traditions shaping human person of staff and students and a constant striving to establish higher education of relevance and excellence. Excellence is not trifle, but trifles make excellence, both in the classroom and in the daily curricular and extra curricular programmes,” said the Principal Sr Carmelita, AC.

The St Agnes College has been the first ever Catholic women's college in India.

KARWAR: Msgr Simon Tellis Appointed Vicar General

2007-05-23T07:58:00.000+05:30

Msgr. Simon Tellis Appointed Vicar General of Karwar Diocese

May 23, 2007 (KCNews.org): Msgr. Simon Tellis has been appointed Vicar General of the diocese of Karwar with effect from 14th May 2007. Bishop Derek Ferandes announced the appointment in his circular dated May 19, 2007.

Msgr. Simon Tellis was first appointed Vicar General of the diocese in October 1989 by Rt. Rev. William D'Mello, Karwar's first Bishop. This post he held till the retirement of the Bishop D'Mello on 24 February 2007 at which time he served as the administrator of the Diocese till the consecration of Most Rev. Derek Fernandes on 20 April 2007 as Bishop of Karwar.

According to Canon Law, a vicar general may be freely appointed or removed by a Diocesan Bishop.

In appointing Msgr. Tellis once again to the post, the new Bishop may have wanted to bring continuity in the work started by Bishop Emeritus DMello alongside whom the Monsignor worked for almost 18 years.

Couples for Christ (CFC) in India

2007-05-22T15:12:00.000+05:30

Couples for Christ - International Catholic Community

What is Couples for Christ (CFC)?

COUPLES FOR CHRIST (CFC) is an International Catholic Community constituted canonically as a private international association of pontifical right recognized by the Pontifical Council for the Laity. This Catholic community sees itself as a missionary community committed to the work of global evangelization and renewal, with the goal of winning the world for Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. It started in June 1981 in Manila, Philippines, where presently its International headquarters are based. Today it attracts over 1 million members in around 158 countries.

COUPLES FOR CHRIST carries out its mission of renewal throughout the world by focusing on three basic areas--evangelization, family life renewal, and Church renewal:

1) EVANGELIZATION

COUPLES FOR CHRIST is called to a work of evangelization that is rapid, massive and global.

2) FAMILY LIFE RENEWAL

COUPLES FOR CHRIST's work of evangelization, formation and support is situated in the context of Christian family living.

3) CHURCH RENEWAL

COUPLES FOR CHRIST seeks to build a network of committed Christian couples and families throughout the world. It is committed to building up vibrant Christian communities in the parishes, dioceses and localities where its members congregate.

COUPLES FOR CHRIST draws its membership from all sectors of society--young and old, rich and poor, educated or illiterate, etc. It transcends all racial, cultural, economic, educational, social and other distinctions. Those who want to join COUPLES FOR CHRIST go through a seminar called a Christian Life Program

CHRISTIAN LIFE PROGRAM (CLP)

The CLP is an integrated course leading into a renewed understanding of God's call to Christian couples, to a personal response of accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, and to receiving a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit on their lives. After the CLP, those who finish are invited to join COUPLES FOR CHRIST by making their commitment to "The covenant of the Couples for Christ" and are then integrated into the body. They are then made part of a small cell group called a household. The household is composed of from 4 to 7 couples who meet weekly for mutual support and encouragement in the Christian life, under the direction of a Household Head. With a view of fulfilling its mission of Building the Church of the Home

COUPLES FOR CHRIST has established its Family Ministries. These are CFC Kids for Christ (KFC), CFC Youth for Christ (YFC), CFC Singles for Christ (SFC), CFC Handmaids of the Lord (HOLD) for widows, older unmarried women, separated or divorced women, and women whose husbands are abroad, and CFC Servants of the Lord (SOLD), the counterpart of the HOLD for the men. More recently COUPLES FOR CHRIST has established its Social Ministries to work for the Building the Church of the Poor.

COUPLES FOR CHRIST has developed a systematic syllabus for the formation of its members. Using a variety of methods viz. weekly community meetings, monthly teaching nights, recollection days, live-in retreats, it offers its members opportunity to grow in Christian maturity.

COUPLES FOR CHRIST is a laity based programme. Lay persons here are highly motivated to fulfill their God-given role in the church. While recognizing, deferring to and actively submitting to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church and to the teaching of the Magisterium, it nonetheless believes that family based communities are best governed by lay people. All members whether men or women, adults or youth or even kids are trained to take on responsibility and serve the
community in accordance with their gifts.

In India, COUPLES FOR CHRIST operates in over 30 States & Union Territories.

In Maharashtra COUPLES FOR CHRIST operates in the following Dioceses (1) Mumbai Archdiocese (2) Vasai, (3) Pune, (4) Nasik (5) Sindhudurg and by the year end its mission is to reach other diocese such as (1) Amravati (2) Aurangbad (3) Chanda (4) Nagpur & (5) Kalyan

Couples For Christ has a plan to reach out all the Parishes in Maharashtra within next couple of years

Couples for Christ in Maharashtra

In Maharashtra, the CLP's are given in English, Marathi & Konkani. Kindly get in touch with the following couples to start CLP in your parish

(1) Frank & Nancy Ferrao (English) 26838791/9820551837
(2) Elias & Louiza Alvares (Konkani) 28343567
(3) Peter & Pramila Rodrigues (Marathi) 28310342/9324524536
(4) Robert & Cynthia D'Souza (English) 32516218/9322927187

Couples for Christ in Mangalore

In Mangalore you can get in touch with:

(1) Alex & Lynette Serrao 0824-2217332/9845459593
(2) Mervin & Ruby Saldanha ( Kallianpur /Udupi area) 0820580442/9448129120
(3) Herald & Josephine D'Souza (Bantwal) 08255232132
(For Kerala) get in touch with Paul & Theresa Andrade 08242435163/9845589743

for more details please visit our global site: cfcglobal.org.ph

Posted by Walter Crasta

MANGALORE: Youth Retreat by Thomas Paul - May 2007

2007-05-20T20:50:00.001+05:30

MANGALORE: Youth Retreat at Bejai by Br. Thomas Paul

There will be a Catholic youth retreat at Bejai led by Bro. Thomas Paul of Kingdom Ministries.

Dates: 22nd -24th May, 2007
Time: 9am to 5pm
Place: Bejai Parish Hall, Bejai, Mangalore
Registration Charge: Rs 100 (for three days).
Preached by: Br. Thomas Paul (Kingdom Ministries)

This retreat is mainly for youth in the 16 to 30 age group. Parents also welcome.

Posted by Rohit D'Souza

MUMBAI: Pentecost Outreach by Aneel Aranha - May 2007

2007-05-18T12:33:00.000+05:30

MUMBAI: Pentecost Outreach by Aneel Aranha at St. Anthony's Church - Vakola

Aneel Aranha, founder of Holy Spirit Interactive will be conducting an outreach on 24th, 25th and the 26th of May (Thurs - Sat) at St. Anthony's Church, Vakola from 7.30 to 9 p.m. The outreach will conclude with a Pentecost Rally on Sunday, 27th May from 6 - 9 p.m.

Please do spread the word around to people of Vakola-Kalina-Kurla zones

Posted by Jennifer D'souza

Pioneer Carmelite Sr. Sabina Mascarenhas Passes Away

2007-05-17T11:03:00.000+05:30

A Pioneer Carmelite Nun Passes Away

May 17, 2007

AHMEDABAD, Gujarat (SAR NEWS) -- Sister Sabina Mascarenhas, the first Indian candidate to join the Spanish Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of Charity of Vedruna (CCV), died in Mumbai following a massive heart attack May 13. She was 72.

Sister Mascarenhas had served her congregation for 52 years in different fields like education, administration and formation of the youth in Gujarat. She worked till the last day of her life as secretary to the Provincial Sister Celine Paul at their Mother House, Shraddhasseri, Andheri East, Mumbai.

Sister Mascarenhas was born August 29, 1935, at Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir State into a devout family from Goa state. She joined the CCV Sisters at Bhavnagar in 1955 after teaching for a few years at the congregation's Fatima School.

The Catholic nun had her earlier religious formation in Rome, Italy. On her return from Rome, she took up teaching again from 1962 at the Fatima High School, Bhavnagar. In 1973 she was appointed superior of their community at St. Xavier's Ladies' Hostel Ahmedabad, which housed hundreds of girls studying in St. Xavier's College Ahmedabad.

She has also worked in the socio-pastoral field in Modasa Mission and youth ministry at Vidyanagar in Anand, Gujarat state, for two years.

Sister Mascarenhas was then elected to lead their congregation in India as the Provincial Superior in 1982. "As the Provincial she gave her best during six years. She was a person who always had time for everyone. The young and the old loved her alike," a senior CCV nun, Sister Theresa, told SAR News.

After her two terms as Provincial Superior, Sister Mascarenhas was appointed superior of the Ahwa Deep Darshan School Community and then as the formation in charge at Bhavnagar.

From 1997 till her death, Sister Mascarenhas served the congregation as secretary to three Provincial Superiors: Sisters Bonita, Romania and Celine Paul.

"Sabina died as she lived – gently, humbly and peacefully. Hardly ever a complaint passed her lips. She was a person of great depth and of understanding and therefore never spoke ill of anyone," said Sister Celine Paul at the funeral.

Sister Mascarenhas's parents died early. So Sabina and her brother, now living at Bhavnagar, and a sister, living in Mumbai, were brought up by an uncle at Bhavnagar.

"Sister Sabina was an inspiring personality," said Sister Mary Mangan, a senior sister of the CCV Congregation.

Fr Pradeep New Rector of Pune Papal Seminary

2007-05-16T17:56:00.000+05:30

Father Pradeep Sequeira Is New Rector of Papal Seminary Pune

May 16, 2007

BANGALORE, Karnataka (SAR NEWS) -- Jesuit Father Pradeep Sequeira has been appointed Rector of the Papal Seminary in Pune, Maharashtra State.

The new rector told SAR News: "The appointment comes from two sources – the Prefect for Evangelisation at the Vatican, Ivan Cardinal Dias, has appointed me rector of the St. Francis Xavier Papal Seminary while the Jesuit Superior General has appointed me the rector of the Jesuits of the Papal Seminary."

"I deem the appointment as a fortunate responsibility given to me, though I feel rather inadequate. It’s of being of service to the Church in India and an important responsibility. Today’s seminarians are the future of the Church," said Father Sequeira.

Fr. Adolf Washington New ICPA President

2007-05-11T16:10:00.000+05:30

"Promoting journalism based on authentic values" Fr Adolf Washington new president of the Indian Catholic Press Association

BANGALORE May 11, 2006 (Fides Service): - Journalism which is neither scandalistic nor sensationalistic; which fosters respect for the human person, human dignity and rights, promotes justice and solidarity, fights to eliminate discrimination, draws inspiration from authentic Christian values: this is the style of journalism proposed by Fr Adolf Washington, president of the Indian Catholic Press Association ICPA, in his address when he took office on 6 May.

A 35 year old freelance journalist, former vice president of the ICPA, Fr Adolf was elected at a recent meeting in Bangalore. "I am sure the executive members will assist me in this difficult task", said the young priest-journalist. With a degree in journalism and media, lecturer in various schools and universities, Fr. Adolf also contributes to publications such as The New India Express, Oasis, Deccan Herlad, The Catholic Asian Age and is the author of numerous papers on communications.

The vision from which he draws inspiration is to "encourage journalism based on authentic values", striving to make Christian values present not only in specifically Catholic press but also in secular media, addressing the general public, not only the small percentage of Catholics in India.

The Indian Catholic Press Association was established in 1964 to unite Catholic dailies and periodicals, news agencies and publishers, journalists, scholars and docents of journalism. The founders were editors of Catholic newspapers Deepika, Kerala Times, Thozhilali and some weeklies. Today it has 150 members. Since it was founded ICPA has always organised meetings and seminars to promote reflection and growth in the sector of Catholic media. It also helps promote relationships of friendship among members, offers a service of information and formation, and encourages research in the field of communications. In India Catholics were among the first to be involved in social communications, often thanks to the work of missionaries who codified alphabets, wrote grammar books, translated dictionaries, started bulletins and magazines.

BOMBAY - Appointments and Transfers - 2007

2007-05-10T16:10:00.000+05:30

BOMBAY ARCHDIOCESE: Appointments and Transfers of Priests

APPOINTMENTS (I)

Fr Harold Vaz - Rector, St Pius X College

Fr John Almeida - Parish Priest, St Anthony Church, Dharavi, while continuing as Principal, Joseph Cardijn; Technical School, Dadar (East)

Fr William Athaide -Parish Priest, St Pius X Church, Mulund

Fr Ajit Bandekar - Parish Priest, St Anthony Church, Malwani

Fr Peter D'Cunha - Parish Priest, Infant Jesus Church, Dombivli

Fr Allywn D'Silva - Parish Priest, Our Lady of Nazareth Church, Bhayandar

Fr James D'Silva - Parish Priest, Our Lady of Bethlehem Church, Dongri

Fr Don John D'Souza - Parish Priest, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Korlai

Fr Michael D’Souza - Parish Priest, Our Lady of the Sea Church, Uttan

Fr Cleophas Fernandes - Parish Priest, Our Lady of Salvation Church, Dadar

Fr Theodore Fernandes - Parish Priest, St Jude Church, Jeri Meri

Fr Diago Pereira - Parish Priest, St John the Evangelist Church, Fort

Fr Dominic Pereira - Parish Priest, St Joseph Church, Umerkhadi

Fr Andrew Sequeira - Parish Priest, St Joseph Church, Colaba

Fr Andrew Mukadom - Priest-in-charge, Our Lady of Fatima Church, Majiwada

Fr Michael D’Costa - Assistant at Our Lady of Victories Church, Mahim and Principal, Victoria High School, Mahim

Fr Colman Carlos - Assistant Director, Joseph Cardijn Technical School, Dadar (East) with residence at St Blaise Church, Amboli

Fr Vernon de Souza - Joint Administrator, Clergy Home, Bandra

Fr Anthony J. Fernandes - Assistant Youth Director, Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Bandra

Fr Hilary Fernandes - Director, Muktisagar Prabodhan Kendra, Uttan with residence at Our Lady of the Sea Church, Uttan

Fr Ubaldo Barretto - On the Staff, St Joseph Church, Belapur - C.B.D.

Fr Peter Drego - On the Staff, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Bandra

Fr Anthony Fernandes - On the Staff, St Francis Xavier Church, Dabul

Fr Sanjeev Prasad Pereira - On the Staff, St Joseph Church, Vikhroli

Fr Ronald Sequeira - On the Staff, St Joseph Church, Umerkhadi

APPOINTMENTS (II)

Fr Anthony Cardozo CScR - Assistant, St Anthony Church, Vakola

Fr Joe D’Mello - Assistant, Sacred Heart Church, Worli

Fr Bernard D’Souza - Assistant, Our Lady of Salvation Church, Dadar

Fr Henry D’Souza - Assistant, Cathedral of the Holy Name, Fort

Fr Henry S. D’Souza - Assistant, St Joseph Church, Vikhroli

Fr Julius D’Souza - Assistant, Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Goregaon (West)

Fr Savio D’Souza - Assistant, St Anthony Church, Saki Naka

Fr Warner D’Souza - Assistant, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Bandra

Fr Marian Fernandes - Assistant, St Joseph Church, Juhu

Fr Hubert Goveas - Assistant, St Pius X Church, Mulund

Fr Edward Jacinto - Assistant, St Lawrence Church, Wagle Estate

Fr Christopher Jeyakumar - Assistant, Our Lady of Mercy Church, Pokhran

Fr T. P. Lonappan - Assistant, St Blaise Church, Amboli

Fr Michael Martires - Assistant, St Francis of Assisi Church, Bandra

Fr Walter Pinto - Assistant, St Thomas Church, Goregaon (East)

Fr Lincoln Rebello - Assistant, St Joseph Church, Goregaon (East)

Fr Jude Rodrigues - Assistant, St Paul Church, Dadar (East)

Fr Xavier Rodrigues - Assistant, Good Shepherd Church, Andheri (West)

Fr Conrad Saldanha - Assistant, St Paul Church, Dadar (East)

Fr Reuben Tellis - Assistant, Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Orlem

Fr Vincent Thomas - Assistant, St Anthony of Padua Church, Kalwa

NEWLY ORDAINED

Fr Walter D’Souza - Assistant, Our Lady of Nazareth Church, Bhayandar

Fr Stephen Maria - Assistant, St Jude Church, Jeri Meri

Fr Leon Mascarenhas - Assistant, St John the Evangelist Church, Marol

APPOINTMENTS (III)

Fr Claudy Vas SAC - Parish Priest, St Vincent Pallotti Church, Marol

Fr Anthony Lopez MSFS - Priest in-charge, Holy Redeemer Church, Khapoli

Fr Valentine Alphonso SAC - Priest in-charge, Good Shepherd Church, Sanpada

Fr Clement Mendonca MSFS - Assistant, St Joseph Church, Kurla

Fr Regie Malekar SDB - Assistant, St Dominic Savio Church, Wadala (East)

Fr Allwyn Misquitta SDB - Assistant, St John Bosco Church, Borivli

Fr Baptist Monteiro SDB - Assistant, St Dominic Savio Church, Wadala (East)

Fr Edmund Carrasco SJ - Assistant, St Anne Church, Mazagaon

Fr Henry D’Cruz SJ - Assistant, St Anne Church, Mazagaon

Fr Bosco D’Souza SJ - Assistant, Holy Family Church, Andheri (East)

Fr Aloysius Murzello SJ - Assistant, St Peter Church, Bandra

Fr Callisto Gomes SVD - Assistant, Sarva Vikas Deep, Mangaon

Fr Anil Kumar Thippabattini SVD - Assistant, Sacred Heart Church, Andheri (East)

APPOINTMENTS (IV)

Fr Ani Zacharia Valiyatharayil OIC - Parish Priest, St Joseph Malankara Catholic Church, Ulhasnagar

Fr Jacob Eettithadathil OIC - Parish Priest, St Thomas Malankara Catholic Church, Borivli

Fr Peter John Valayil OIC - Parish Priest, St Mary’s Malankara Catholic Church, Saki Naka and Vikhroli

Fr Peter Jeyakanthan SSS - Priest-in-charge, St Anthony Church, Tembipada

Fr Aniceto Pereira - Assistant, St Anthony Church, Malwani

Fr Arokia Punithan SSS - Assistant, St Anthony Church, Dharavi

Fr Joseph Parachalil O. Praem - Assistant, Our Lady of Visitation Church, Nerul

Fr Leopold Soares SJ - Assistant, St Francis Xavier Church, Kanjur and Principal, St Francis Xavier High School, Kanjur

Fr Patrick D'Mello - Assistant, St John the Evangelist Church, Marol

Fr Satish Baburaw Adhav HGN - Assistant, Our Lady of Velankanni Church, Irla

Fr Anthony J. Fernandes - Archdiocesan Vocation Promoter while continuing to be Assistant Youth Director, Diocesan Pastoral Centre, Bandra

Fr Mario Mendes - Deputed for studies, Masters in Social Work with residence at Our Lady of Salvation Church, Dadar

Fr Melroy Fernandes - Deputed for studies in Communications, NISCORT, New Delhi

The above appointments take place with effect from June 1, 2007

(To be continued)

+ Oswald Gracias
Archbishop of Bombay

May 19, 2007

MANGALORE: Mass Wedding Solemnized

2007-05-09T17:48:00.000+05:30

Catholic Bishop Solemnizes Nuptial Vows Of 17 Couples

May 9, 2007

MANGALORE, Karnataka (SAR NEWS) -- To minimize the lavish wedding expenses incurred by the ordinary Catholic families, Mangalore Diocese this year celebrated community marriages of 17 couples.

Bishop Aloysius D’Souza of Mangalore solemnized the nuptials at the Rosario Cathedral on May 6.

The prelate presented a copy of the Bible to each of the couple, hailing from different parts of the diocese and exhorted them to build their lives on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Traditionally Mangalorean Catholic weddings are known for lavish expenses leading invariably the newly weds into huge debts.

The idea of community weddings was mooted 32 years by the Rosario Cathedral unit of the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) to help the families to have an occasion for community celebrations.

Till date, SVP has helped 474 couples with donations received from generous Catholics in the diocese thus saving the newly weds from the burden of debts.

“It is important to make community weddings more popular among the people so that people stop borrowing money or taking loans from the banks to celebrate the wedding and pay off the loans for a long time”, noted Konkani writer Dr Edward Nazareth, the chief guest told a large crowd at the reception.

Household goods worth Rs. 2000 and Rs. 4000 as fixed deposit were gifted to each of the couples.

Seven priests assisted Bishop D’Souza in the community nuptial ceremony. Rudolph Tauro, SVP president of the Rosario Cathedral unit and other SVP members looked after the arrangements.

END

MANGALORE: Diocesan Priest Transfers - 2007

2007-05-08T15:02:00.000+05:30

Mangalore Diocese: Priests Transfers and Appointments

The Bishop of Mangalore, Most Rev. Dr. Aloysius Paul D'Souza has announced the transfer of the following Priests of the Diocese May 4, 2007.

Sl.No. Name - Current Assignment => New Assignment - (Transfer Date)

List I

01. Fr. Boniface D'Souza - Panja => LSP Convent Bajjodi - (01-3-2007)

02. Fr. Arokiaswamy OFM - Bangalore => Bannur - (15-4-2007)

03. Fr. Victor Machado - Rector => Renewed - (1-5-2007)

04. Fr. Roque D'sa - Modankap => Modankap (PP) - (1-5-2007)

05. Fr. Francis D'Souza - Studies => Rector, Gladsome - (1-5-2007)

06. Fr. Michael Mascarenhas - Newly Ordained => Vittal (Asst.PP) - (10-5-2007)

07. Fr. Rocky Fernandes - Newly Ordained => Belman (Asst.PP) - (10-5-2007)

08. Fr. Santosh Menezes - Newly Ordained => Bejai (Asst.PP) - (10-5-2007)

09. Fr. Maxim S D'Souza - Newly Ordained => Anjelore (Asst.PP) - (10-5-2007)

10. Fr. Maxim D'Souza - Newly Ordained => Bondel (Asst.PP) - (10-5-2007)

11. Fr. Lancy Saldanha - Newly Ordained => Mudipu (Asst.PP) - (10-5-2007)

12. Fr. Melwin Lobo - Newly Ordained => Udyavar (Asst.PP) - (10-5-2007)

13. Fr. Marian Pinto - Rosario => St. Antony's Home - (10-5-2007)

14. Fr. Vincent Crasta - Rosario => Puttur (Asst.PP) - (14-5-2007)

15. Fr. Denis Prabhu - Chancellor => Vicar General - (15-5-2007)

16. Fr. Henry Sequiera - Judicial Vicar => Judicial Vicar and Chancellor - (15-5-2007)

17. Fr. Msgr. Fred V. Pereira - Vicar General => St. Anthony's home - (16-5-2007)

18. Fr. Vincent V. Saldanha - Belthangady => Cordel (Asst.PP) - (16-5-2007)

19. Fr. Vishal Lobo - Permannur => Udupi (Asst.PP) - (16-5-2007)

20. Fr. Rudolf Ravi D'Sa - Bendur => Belthangady (Asst.PP) - (17-5-2007)

21. Fr. Vincent Lobo - Bondel => Bendur (Asst.PP) - (18-5-2007)

22. Fr. Sunil Viegas - Vamanjoor => Pakshikere (Asst.PP) - (19-5-2007)

23. Fr. Naveen P. D'Souza - Vittal => Bejai (Asst.PP) - (19-5-2007)

24. Fr. Stany Monteiro - Kateel => Kokkada - (19-5-2007)

25. Fr. Edwin Corriea - Shirva => Milagres-Mangalore (Asst.PP) - (20-5-2007)

26. Fr. Frederick Monteiro - Surathkal => Vamanjoor (Asst.PP) - (20-5-2007)

27. Fr. Valerian Lewis - Kokkada => Sullia - (20-5-2007)

28. Fr. Kiran Pinto - Valencia => Shirva (Asst.PP) - (21-5-2007)

29. Fr. Robert Crasta - Sulia => Kateel - (21-5-2007)

30. Fr. Aloysius D'Souza - ICYM => Puttur College - (21-5-2007)

31. Fr. Santosh D'Souza - Jalasangi => Panja - (23-5-2007)

32. Fr. Abel Lobo - Panja => Vamadapadav - (24-5-2007)

33. Fr. Clive Tellis SDB - Goa => Kelmbet (Asst.PP) - (24-5-2007)

34. Fr. Ronald Miranda - Vamadapadav => Miyar - (25-5-2007)

35. Fr. Vincent V. Menezes - Miyar => Cascia - (26-5-2007)

36. Fr. Cyril D'Souza - Cascia => Holidays - (27-5-2007)

37. Fr. Lawrence Menezes - Holidays => Mukka - (27-5-2007)

38. Fr. Alexander Noronha - Cordel => Rosario (Asst.PP) - (28-5-2007)

39. Fr. Herald C. D'Souza - Mukka => Pangla - (28-5-2007)

40. Fr. Alexander Lobo - Pangla => Vianney Home - (29-5-2007)

41. Fr. Romeo Lewis - Cascia => Perampalli - (1-6-2007)

42. Fr. James D'Souza - Perampalli => Belthangady - (2-6-2007)

43. Fr. Gerald D'Souza - Belthangady => Puttur - (3-6-2007)

44. Fr. Alban Rodrigues - Agrar => Kumbla - (3-6-2007)

45. Fr. Alfred Pinto - Kumbla => Kinnigoli - (4-6-2007)

46. Fr. Bonaventure Nazareth - Puttur => Valencia - (4-6-2007)

47. Fr. Paul Pinto - Valencia => Fajir - (5-6-2007)

48. Fr. Richard Saldanha - Fajir => Belvai - (6-6-2007)

49. Fr. Gregory Serrao - Belvai => Pernal - (7-6-2007)

50. Fr. Maxim Rosario - Puttur => Valencia (Resi) - (7-6-2007)

51. Fr. Valerian D'Souza - Pernal => Siddakatte - (8-6-2007)

52. Fr. Mark Valdar - Siddakatte => Gantalakatte - (9-6-2007)

53. Fr. Anil D'Souza - Gantalakatte => ICYM - (9-6-2007)

54. Fr. Anil V. Menezes - Udyavar => Gulbarga Diocese (June, 2007)

55. Fr. Harry D'Souza - Puttur => Gulbarga Diocese (June 2007)

List II

56. Fr Clifford Fernandes => St Josephs' Seminary, Jeppu

57. Fr Prakash Monteiro => Bishops' house (education)

58. Fr Vincent Alfred Sequeira => (Asst. PP), Permannur

59. Fr Leo Lasrado => (Asst. PP), Pangala

List III

60. Fr Peter Fernandes => Bishops' House (Res).

61. Fr Vijay Lobo => Manipal, BEd study.

62. Fr Walter Menezes (SAC) => (PP), Farla.

63. Fr Clement Martis (SAC) => (Asst. PP), Farla.

64. Fr Jayaprakash D'Souza => (PP), Shaktinagar.

65. Fr Herald Pereira => (Director) Small Christian Community and YCS

66. Fr. Alexander Lobo Pangla => Guardian, Vianney Home

67. Fr. Patrick Rodrigues Kinnigoli => Director, Fr. Muller Hospital

68. Fr. Baptist Menezes Fr. Muller => Episcopal Vicar, Udupi

New Vicar General, Chancellor Named for Mangalore Diocese

2007-05-04T21:25:00.000+05:30

New Vicar General, Chancellor Named for Mangalore Diocese

May 4, 2007 (KCNews.org): V. Rev. Fr. Denis Moras Prabhu has been appointed as the new Vicar General of Mangalore Diocese by Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza.

Currently serving as Chancellor of the Diocese, Fr. Prabhu "brings with him a vast pastoral and administrative experience which will stand in good stead for him in his office as Vicar General," the Bishop explained in his appointment notice. The Priest who succeeds Msgr. Frederick V. Pereira will take charge at 12 noon on 15 May 2007.

Meantime Msgr. Fred V. Pereira, who served as an Ordinary of the Diocese from 5 June 2001, will take over his new responsibility as Director of St. Antony's Charity Institutes, Jeppu on 16 May 2007.

V. Rev. Fr. Henry Sequiera, Judicial Vicar of the Marriage Tribunal of the Diocese has been named as the new Chancellor. He will asume office on 15 May 2007.

BANGALORE: Vocations, 21st Century Crisis, Say Serra Club Members

2007-05-02T12:01:00.000+05:30

Serrans Claim Lack of Vocations is the Crisis of 21st Century

Bangalore, April 30, 2007:

On Vocation Sunday Worldwide, members of the Serra international Club called the attention of Catholics to the dwindling numbers of priestly and religious vocations terming it as the crisis of the 21st century, April 29,2007 in Bangalore

Speaking from the pulpit after the Masses in Holy Ghost Church, the President of the Serra Club, Ms Jeanette D'Souza, asked the faithful to rise to the occasion so that the future generations would have sufficient priests to minister to the local Church and sufficient religious to carry on charitable acts towards society.

She asked the people to pray because more things are wrought through prayer than the world dreams of and Jesus himself said that the harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few asking us to pray to the Father to send more labourers into the harvest.

Ms. Jeanette said that Serra Club asked people to join the 1-M club which merely asked people to commit to participate in one extra Mass a month and to offer it for the intentions of vocations to priesthood and religious life.

Stating facts from Irish data, the President said, since November 2000, 1,173 Irish priests have died while in the same period only 101 Irish priests have been ordained. In 2005 alone 199 Irish priests died, whereas only 8 priests were newly ordained in Ireland.

Redemptorist Fr. Joseph Roy preaching the homily on the Fourth Sunday of Easter said that the figure of the Good Shepherd presented in the Gospel reading beackons young people to commit their life for the Church service.

He also encouraged people to sign up for the 1-M Club sponsored by the Serra International, which had put up stalls in the premises of the Holy Ghost Church.

Unless the youth realize the potential in giving one's life for Christ the world will lack spiritual guidance, he claimed.

Through a well-worded sermon, the priest fired the imagination of the listeners to pray and offer their children to God's service lest the Church be poor in spiritual leadership in the future.

On Good Shepherd Sunday, the Holy Father greeted the people and emphasized that the call to the ordained and consecrated life in the Church is a call to communion - a communion rooted in the unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

He invited the faithful gathered for the Angelus Message at St. Peter's square, to pray that young people will answer this call to communion and the service of the Church by responding generously to Christ's call to priesthood and religious life.

According to the Vatican sources the Holy Father, who ordained 22 new priests on this day, urged the faithful to pray for the perseverance for all priests so that they may remain faithful to prayer and celebrate the Holy Mass with ever-renewed devotion and that they may listen to the Word of God and assimilate the sentiments of Christ the Good Shepherd.

He also and said Jesus has called these young men to become fishers of men to be more direct co-workers in the proclamation of the Gospel and the service of the Kingdom of God in our time.

Stating the theme of the day as "At the Service of the Church as Communion", the Pope said the Second Vatican Council in presenting the mystery of the Church in our time favoured the category of Communion.

In this perspective, the rich variety of gifts and offices of the people of God is highlighted. And the entire baptized are called to contribute to the work of salvation.

In the Church however, some vocations are especially dedicated to the service of coummunion, he stated.
.
He said the Pope is primarily responsible for Catholic communion as the successor of Peter and Bishop of Rome. With him the bishops, successors of the apostles, are caretakers and teaches of unity. The priests help the bishops.

However, consecrated persons and all the faithful are also at the service of communion. The Eucharist is at the heart of the Church as communion from this greatest sacrament the various vocations draw the spiritual strength to continually build up the one ecclesial body in charity.

The Pope called Mary as the Mother of the Good Shepherd and asked her intercession to welcome with joy and availability Christ's invitation to be his disciples always animated by the desire to form one heart and one soul.

Serra Club of Bangalore, the first in India, was set up on November 4,2002 by the then Archbishop Ignatius Pinto.

The Serrans preached in many Churches in Bangalore yesterday urging people to pray for vocations.

Initially started in the US under the inspiration of the Franciscan Friar Serra, who worked for vocations to priestly and religious life, the club today is spread over the world and is named after him.

VIDEO: Laudate Dominum - Words & Music

2007-05-01T11:18:00.000+05:30

Laudate Dominum - Words & Music

Popular Latin hymn sung by Catholics at weddings and other functions in Mangalore

[This video was recorded at a Mangalorean Konkani Catholic Wedding.]

Laudate Dominum - Words

Psalm 116(117)

Laudáte Dóminum omnes gentes
omnes populi; Quóniam confirmáta est
súper nos misericordia eius
et véritas Domini mánet in æternum (2)

[At this point all rise and mark themselves
with the Sign of the Cross
as they sing the Glory Be]

Glória Pátri et Filio et Spiritui Sáncto.
Sicut érat in pricipio et nunc et semper
et in sáecula sáeculorum Amen.

Laudáte Dóminum omnes gentes
omnes populi; Quóniam confirmáta est
súper nos misericordia eius
et véritas Domini mánet in æternum (2)

KUNDAPUR: Movie on Blessed Joseph Vaz Released

2007-04-30T11:15:00.000+05:30

TALLUR: Movie on Blessed Joseph Vaz Released

(For More Photos, Click on the Picture)

KUNDAPUR April 30, 2007 (KCNews.org): "Porzollik Noketr", a movie on the life of the Blessed Joseph Vaz released and screened at Tallur, near here, last evening.

The 75-minute movie, produced and directed by Vinod Fernandes, Gangolli, is based on the biography of Blessed Joseph Vaz, "Through Storm and Tempest" written by Fr. Michael Mascarenhas SDB, the provincial-economer of Goa province of Salesians.

Speaking on the occasion, Fr. Michael pointed out how a large number of Catholics in Goa and Mangalore were still unaware of the life of the Blessed Joseph Vaz.

"There are saints among you," was his message to the audience who had gathered for the premiere screening of the movie at the St. Francis of Assisi Church parish hall in Tallur.

Born as the third of six children to Konkani speaking Christian parents Christopher Vaz and Maria de Miranda at Benaulim in Goa, the Priest Joseph Vaz is well-known for his life of Sanctity. He was beatified by the Holy Father Pope John Paul II on 21 January 1995 in Sri Lanka where much of Fr. Vaz's missionary labours were concentrated.

Fr. Benjamin D'Souza, the parish priest of Tallur, said he was totally convinced of the sanctity and greatness of Blessed Joseph Vaz whose life he had studied and meditated over a period of two and half years.

Vinod Fernandes, referred to Blessed Joseph Vaz as "our own Konkani brother" as he thanked everyone who supported him in this venture.

Also present on the occasion were the Vicar Forane of Kundapur, V. Rev. Anthony Lobo, the Principal and Rector of Don Bosco Tech, Fr. Kinley D'cruz, SDB, and the Vice President of Tallur Church, Mr. Benedict Mendonca.

Konkani Catholics Blog

Aug 15: Konkani Patriotic (India) Song

Ho Mhozo Desh

Konkani Patriotic Song by Wilfy Rebimbus

Fr. Franklin Named Karnataka Youth Director

Fr. Franklin D'Souza Named Karnataka Youth Director

Cardinal Toppo and the WYD

Why Cardinal Toppo Came to the World Youth Day

by Austine J. Crasta

Mangaloreans Follow WYD on EWTN

Catholic Television Helps Mangaloreans 'Participate' In WYD Programs

WYD Video: Tantum Ergo

Tantum Ergo

Bathurst: Days in the Diocese (July 9-14, 2008)

WYD, Bathurst: Australian Aborigines

More Photos Here

Pope's Australia Trip to Address Aborigine Rights

WYD Video: Praise to the Lord

BATHURST: "Praise to the Lord" Sung to Organ Accompaniment

Young Indian Vincentians for WYD 2008

Young Vincentions for WYD 2008

More Pictures Here

WYD: 2 Indians to Serve Pope's Mass

Chance To Meet Pope, Make New Friends Excites Indian WYD Participants

WYD: Interview with Rakesh Singh, India

WYD Delegation Leader Promotes Young Catholic Villagers

WYD 2008 Anthem: Receive the Power

World Youth Day (WYD) 2008: Official Anthem

Receive the Power - Video & Lyrics

VIDEO: WYD 2008 Promo

World Youth Day (WYD) 2008, Sydney, Australia

Promo Videos - Parts I & II

Part - I

Part - II

VATICAN: Oswald Gracias Made Cardinal

Cardinals From 14 Countries, Including India, Receive Red Hat From Pope

Basic Catholic Konkani Prayers

Basic Catholic Konkani Prayers

Notes for Pronunciation

Challis Konknni Magnnim(40 Konkani Prayers)

1. Khursacho Ghurt

2. Santa Khursachi Kuru

3. Onond Bapak

4. Somiachem Magnnem

5. Bhoddveacho Noman

6. Apostolanchim Sotman'tam

7. Bhavarthachem Vidhan

8. Bhorvonseachem Vidhan

9. Mogachem Vidhan

10. Dukhichem Vidhan

11. Avmori

12. Sorgache Rannie (Paskanchea kallar)

13. Rakonn Bhoddveak Magnnem

14. Sorul'lea Bhavartheam Pasot Magnnem

15.Mhojea Deva

16. Hanv Patki

17. Noman Rannie

18. Nimanneo Char Vostu

19. Devache Upodes

20. Igorjeche Upodes

Oswald Gracias Named Cardinal

'Simple, Approachable' Prelate Gets Red Hat

Bio Data

Goa Going The Las Vegas Way?

Goa Going The Las Vegas Way?

The Las Vegas way

INDIA: Interview with Opus Dei Spokesman

Be Another Christ In Society: Opus Dei

Excerpts from the interview:

Old & New Mass Ecclesiology Incompatible?

Is the Ecclesiology of the Old Missal "Incompatible" with that of the New?

Motu Proprio Ecclesiological Question

NISCORT Completes 10 Years

INDIA Church Media Institute Completes 10 Years, Undaunted By Challenges

William D'Souza Appointed Patna Archbishop

Bishop William D'Souza Appointed Archbishop Of Patna

Leo Cornelio to be New Bhopal Archbishop

New Archbishop Of Bhopal To Be Installed On Sunday

The Catholic Directory of Bombay: 2007-2008

The Catholic Directory of Bombay: 2007-2008

Challis Konknni Magnnim
(40 Konkani Prayers)