Monday, October 31, 2005
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Ceylon News: Buddhists Seek To Ratchet Persecution of Christians
Although Buddhists are themeselves anti-Christians, and therefore do not need instigation to persecute Christians where they (Buddhists) dominate politically, it remains a fact that the Hindu "Sangh Parivar" has been fanning across the globe instigating various groups, sects and cults, such as the Buddhist communities worldwide, to persecute Christians where possible. This is yet another of the same. The following message was forwarded to me by a person who received it from Lefebvrists who received it from Protestants.
Some 20 years or so back, Sinhala Buddhist imperialism and colonialism against the homelands of other ethnic native peoples of the island and poggroms directed against these communities in the capital catalyzed the Tamil War of Independence, bravely carried out even till now by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam against the might of Sinhala terrorism aided and abetted by India and the U.S.A. With all the powers behind it, Ceylon, determined to commit state-suicide, will assuredly be torn asunder by its aggravations!
See also this page: http://www.tamilcanadian.com/pageview.php?ID=3509.1
— Lúcio]
From: David and Jasmine Trask
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 2005 11:19:21 -0700
Subject: Urgent Prayer Request for Sri Lanka — more info.
Please pray for Sri Lanka. If this Anti-Conversion Bill is placed in effect, the Catholics will be greatly persecuted.
Please note: Some Catholic churches have already been torched in this country.
There is a traditional Catholic community (SSPX) in Sri Lanka; please pray for them especially that they may have the courage to persevere in defending the true Catholic Faith.
The source of the article below: http://www.win1040.com/currentprayer/a0000547.cfm
The link to the draft of the actual Anti-Conversion bill: http://persecution.net/news/srilanka_law.html
Buddhists Push "Anti-Conversion" Bills Before November Presidential Elections
WIN Emergency Prayer Alert
Christians worldwide are needed to intercede for Sri Lanka after more than 1,000 Buddhist monks recently staged a protest in the predominantly Buddhist country, asking that anti-conversion legislation be put back on the parliamentary agenda before presidential elections scheduled for Thursday, November 17.
Two anti-conversion bills — one proposed by the Buddhist Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU or National Heritage Party) — were presented to parliament earlier this year, but were put on hold, Compass Direct reported.
The JHU bill called for prison sentences of up to five years and/or a stiff fine for anyone found guilty of converting others "by force or by allurement or by any fraudulent means." It also encouraged members of the public to report cases of suspected forced conversion.
Monks from the JHU played a key role in the September 20 protest march and rally in Colombo, the nation's capital. However, the JHU has now dropped its demands for presidential candidate Mahinda Rajapakse, currently prime minister of Sri Lanka, to push the anti-conversion agenda forward before the elections.
The JHU signed a deal with Rajapakse earlier this month promising electoral support in return for a more aggressive approach to negotiations with the LTTE, a rebel group that has fought for an independent Tamil homeland since 1983.
JHU leader Athuraliye Rathna Thero told the daily "Colombo Page" that his party had "decided to withdraw its [anti-conversion bill], as the threat of conversion to other religions will not exist when Prime Minister Rajapakse becomes president."
Rajapakse traveled to Kandy, the Buddhist capital of Sri Lanka, to sign the deal outside the Temple of the Tooth, an important religious landmark. He knelt down before JHU chief monk Ellawala Medananda to formally accept his copy of the agreement, before entering the temple with Medananda to observe Buddhist religious rites.
In July, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom expressed concern about growing religious intolerance in Sri Lanka, Compass reported. The commission claimed the JHU bill would "fall short of international standards with regard to freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief."
The commission urged the Sri Lankan government to refrain from passing laws that were "inconsistent with international standards." In response, the JHU sent a letter to U.S. Ambassador Jeffry Lunstead in early August, condemning the United States' stand on the anti-conversion bill.
The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka recorded more than 170 attacks on Christian individuals or institutions between January 2003 and January 2005. In many of these incidents, Buddhist monks were present and played a leading role.
The violence has continued this year. Most recently, a Foursquare Gospel church in Horana, located in the Kalutara district, was ordered to close after a Buddhist mob threatened worshipers at Sunday services on July 31 and August 7. The police accepted that the church had a constitutional right to meet together but ordered the meetings to stop, as they had supposedly provoked a "disturbance of the peace." Church members were ordered not to meet for worship in any other location.
In July, a Roman Catholic church in Patunagama was attacked during the night and set on fire. A second Catholic church in Pulasthigama was torched in broad daylight on July 16. Unidentified extremists also planted explosives outside the Christian Family Church in Kayankerny, located in the Batticaloa district, in the early hours of July 7, causing severe damage to the newly-built church, Compass reported.
Christians constitute about 8 percent of this prominently Buddhist country's 19.7 million people, 70 percent of whom are Buddhists. According to Operation World, with Christianity growing by more than 11 percent a year, Christians have come under increased persecution. END.
More Indian Hypocrisy & Anti-Christian Bias
Friends,
Please share and publicize these incidents, which graphically demonstrate the hypocrisy and systemic anti-Christian bias of the Indian State, to your abilities and as you see fit.
The news article on Rajasthan quotes the lumpen “home minister” as portraying the incidents at Kota in February 2005 as a clash; as a matter of fact, what occurred was a series of terrorist attacks against a Protestant mission and against its personnel and guests, staged not only by the ruling Hindu fascists, but abetted by officers of state. I have altered the text to reflect reality.
Regards,
Lúcio
“Christian’s Meet In Goa Not Allowed”
Asian Age, Oct. 29, 2005. Page 4.
[The R.S.S. is the ideological organization of the Hindu fascist federation called the “Sangh Parivar”. See also this news report in a local Goan daily: http://oheraldo.in/comment/reply/5815 — Lúcio]
Panaji: Under orders from a Sub-Divisional Magistrate, the police disallowed a three-day Christian evangelical meet from taking place in a North Goa village, reports our correspondent.
Hindu activist groups, led by prominent R.S.S. members from the nearby Mapuca town, had threatened to disrupt the meeting, alleging that conversions were expected to take place. Protest groups held small meetings outside a temple near the meeting venue prior to its inauguration. END.
x x x
“Kerala Government Turns To Vaastu Shastra”
Asian Age, Oct. 29, 2005. Page 4.
[Vaastu Shastra and Feng Shui are the respective Hindu and Chinese superstitions regulating the orientation of things and structures. The Indian Constitution includes provisions that citizens must cultivate a “rationalistic attitude” and outlaws superstitions, a provision that, to the best of my knowledge has never been enforced — Lúcio]
Trivandrum: The Government of Kerala state is now hoping that the ancient Indian building science, Vaastu, will work wonders for all its troubles. Vaastu experts, who had suggested modifications to the Vidhan Soudha (State Legislature) complex in Bangalore to help the Karnataka Government, have apparently been called in to have a look at the imposing Kerala Legislative Assembly complex. They will also study the design and construction of the state INC Party headquarters. (I.A.N.S.) END.
x x x
“BJP To Bring Law Against Conversion”
Asian Age, Oct. 30, 2005. Page 2.
[Since the last two years or so, since the Hindu fascist Bharatiya Janata Party won the elections in Rajasthan province, India, and formed the government, Hindu fascist youth, particularly the Bajrang Dal, have, time and again, attacked Christians and Christian organizations without provocation. There has been no Christian attack against Hindus. I have re-edited the text of the news report. See also these links:
http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/24/stories/2005022406240500.htm
http://www.hindu.com/2005/02/21/stories/2005022109030500.htm
http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2207/stories/20050408001104000.htm
http://across.co.nz/5000Graduate.html
http://www.aiccindia.org/news/emmanuel_mission_attack.htm
http://www.persecution.net/news/india50.html
— Lúcio]
Jaipur: In order to curb the growing tension between Hindu organizations and Christian missions in the tribal areas of Rajasthan, the B.J.P. government has decided to enact an Anti-Conversion Law as early as possible. The Minister for Home, Gulabchand Kataria made a statement to this effect to senior R.S.S. functionaries who had organized a camp to convert tribal children to Hinduism.
Addressing the three-day cam, Kataria said that the new law will deal with an iron hand if anyone was found engaged in “forceful conversion”.
“The new law is aimed to stop any conversion to Christianity on the basis of bribery or compulsion,” he assured the Sangh Parivar. The issue of anti-conversion legislation came in context of the Bajrang Dal’s attack on the Emmanuel Mission’s personnel in the city of Kota in February 2005.
The camp was organized by Vidya Bharati, a Sangh Parivar constituent, dedicated to converting tribals to Hinduism. There were over eight thousand girls and boys from tribal areas collected at the camp. END.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Vindication of Pope Honorius I
Friends,
I found, on Mario Derksen’s site, this document by Jean Andre Perlant, which excites me because it provides a fuller and better vindication of Pope Honorius I than I had… and also because it records an early statement on the Indefectibility of the Particular Church of Rome which was last formally reiterated by the Vatican Council, 1870.
The document is to be found here: http://www.eclipseofthechurch.com/HonoriusCalumny.htm
The usual disclaimer as to source applies.
Regards,
Lúcio
lucio.mascarenhas [at] gmail.com
Thought For The Day
"An error which is not resisted is approved; a truth which is not defended is suppressed... He who does not oppose an evident crime is open to suspicion of secret complicity." — Pope Felix III
Indian Supreme Court Permits States Relax Loudspeaker Ban
More proof of hypocrisy at High levels in the Bharatiya establishment. "Don't mix religion into this issue", except when it comes to exempting Hindu festivals. Muslims and Christians can go to the dogs!
[Under 58 years of pagan rule, Christians already have gone to the dogs!]
Regards,
Lúcio
[No webpage was found for this article]
Times News Network. Times of India, Bombay, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2005. Page 15.
New Delhi: Festivals like Navratri and Ganesh Chaturthi will be fun once again. Toning down its own order imposing a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. ban on the use of loudspeakers in public places, the Supreme Court on Friday upheld the constitutional validity of a provision of the Noise Pollution (Control & Regulation) Rules to allow state governments to permit the use of sound amplifiers for two hours till midnight for 15 days in a year.
However, this doesn’t mean a free run for Diwali revelers as the relaxation will not be applicable to the court’s July 18 order banning the use of sound-emitting fire crackers after 10 p.m.
The order followed a spate of applications by many parites, including the governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat, seeking relaxation of the absolute ban during Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri respectively.
While Maharashtra did not get the relief and went through the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations quietly, Gujarat witnessed a full-scale Garba during Navratri as it got the assent of the Supreme Court to relax the use of loudspeakers till midnight by citing rules allowing states to relax the ban for a limited period.
Upholding the validity of the provisions of the Statutory Rules giving such power to the States, a bench comprising Chief Justice R.C. Lahoti and Justice Ashok Bhan said that States must strictly adhere to the two-hour relaxation period and that too, only for a maximum of 15 days in a year.
In addition, the relaxation period has to be notified by the States concerned in advance. “Any attempt to enlarge the period and hour of relaxation for use of loudspeakers may run counter to the Supreme Court’s rulings,” the bench warned.
It had said that loudspeakers and high-volume amplifiers could be used only in case of public emergencies. The court had invoked Article 21 of the Constitution guaranteeing Right to Life and said that the right to life included the right to live peacefully.
When applications wer filed seeking relaxation of the ban on the use of loudspeakers in the morning hours, as it clashed with the Muslim Azaan (morning call to prayer), a visibly upset Chief Justice had asked the applicants not to mix religion into such issues. END
Feast of Christ the King
Friends,
This is to remind you that tomorrow, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2005, is the last Sunday of October, and is the Feast of Christ the King.
Please observe the day accordingly.
Regards,
Lúcio
lucio.mascarenhas [at] gmail.com
Further Proofs of Satanism
These pages should prove, beyond doubt, to the believing Christian, the extent of apostasy that is prevalent in what purports to tbe Catholic Church...
The two principal pages are those of the "DIM-MID" or "Dialogue Interreligieux Monastique - Monastic Interreligious Dialogue", and the other of its U.S. section, monasticdialog.com
God help us!
Lúcio
http://www.monasticdialog.com
http://www.dimmid.org
Christopher Bamford on sacred hospitality.
Sr. GilChrist Lavigne reflects on the first meeting of the Nordic Commission, held on June 16-17, 2004.
Becoming a Zen Teacher by Kevin Hunt.
Towards Deepening Hindu-Christian Maitri: The Meaning of Interreligious Dialogue by Mgr. Felix Machado
Ewert Cousins, right, with his wife Janet Cousins on the way he first became involved in interreligious dialogue.
After Petersham: A Journey in Search of Jain Nuns by Mary L. O'Hara.
Griselda Cos' recollections of the Parliament of the World's Religions
Thomas Ryan's recollections of the Parliament of the World's Religions
Response to Dominus Jesus | William Skudlarek on Sesshins in Japan
Brother Ed Dailey on Interreligious Dialogue
Sister Mary Margaret Funk, O.S.B. interviews Patrick Henry, Ph.D.
Friday, October 28, 2005
Radical Openness: Toward a Christian Spirituality of Interreligious Dialogue in Depth
Alas! The Kingdom of Satan is truly amongst us!!
Lúcio
By Gregory Perron, OSB
Br. Gregory, a member of the Monasstic Interreligious Dialogue Board, gave the following presentation to his own monastic community, St. Procopius Abbey in Lisle, Illinois, on January 23, 2004. Slightly revised for publication here, it provides a lucid and concise overview of what pioneers like Bede Griffiths, Thomas Merton, and Raimon Panikkar said about the practice of intrareligious and interreligious dialogue. Br. Gregory chose as an epigraph for his presentation the following passage from Raimon Panikkar.
As long as I do not open my heart and do not see that the other is not an other but a part of myself who enlarges and completes me, I will not arrive at dialogue. If I embrace you, then I understand you. All this is a way of saying that real intrareligious dialogue begins in myself, and that it is more an exchange of religious experiences than of doctrines. If one does not start out from this foundation, no religious dialogue is possible; it is just idle chatter.
Introduction
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue is presently developing a document on the spirituality of dialogue. This document will be called “A Christian Spirituality of Interreligious Dialogue,” and it will attempt to clarify the Church’s “profound motivations” for engaging in interfaith dialogue and “to encourage its practice.”2 In so doing, it will undoubtedly seek to address some of the many fruitful demands that this dialogue makes upon those who enter into it at the level of theological discourse and religious experience. What I would like to do in this paper is basically anticipate the PCID’s forthcoming document by (a) briefly sketching some of the constitutive theological underpinnings of any Christian spirituality of dialogue, and (b) reflecting at greater length on the actual religious experience of interreligious dialogue so as to better understand the kinds of demands that this practice makes on a person at this level.
Update on Paganization
“DIM/MID" represents the French & English abbreviations for "Monastic InterFaith Dialogue". The website is http://www.dimmid.org
The “Commission” that Ms. Colin speaks of is the facilitative organ of the “Benedictine Interfaith Dialogue”.
Regards,
Lúcio
Indian Questions
by Sr Bruno-Marie Colin osb
View source.
On the invitation of Sr Iona Misquitta, I had the pleasure of taking part in the assembly of the Federation of Indian and Sri Lankan Superiors and also in the annual meeting of the contact persons of Benedictine Interfaith Dialogue (BID). Sr Iona is the person responsible for BID, the Indian and Sri Lankan equivalent of the European DIM/MID. These meetings were held in the Sylvestrine Monastery of Mount Fano in Kandy, Sri Lanka, February 13-16, 2002.
Sr Iona’s intention was to enable me to get to know the Indian Commission and, in a lightning visit of 10 days, the Benedictine communities and their situation. In sending me, Fr Pierre de Béthune, the General Secretary of DIM/MID, wanted to strengthen the bonds between the Commissions of the two continents and to stimulate the interfaith engagement of the Benedictines. For my part, I wished to respond as best as I could to all these expectations (to be Roman with the Romans!), even if the prospect of making a journey like this on my own was somewhat disquieting.
The International Bulletin will doubtless give an account of the BID meeting, so it is my impressions of this first contact with South India (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala) that I would like to offer in order to express my thanks. I really put myself into living this adventure in depth, by day and by night (3 nights out of 7 were spent on trains), but all that I can say is bound to be very superficial.
There was no time to keep a journal and this experience was so dense that an interval was needed before impressions could settle, some things be forgotten and the main points stand out. Therefore will those who know these countries kindly forgive my naive and external approach to an India that is far more mysterious and profound. May this account give them a pretext to return in heart and mind to this captivating continent!
The first thing I discovered was how extremely varied Benedictine life is. From the very beginning questions arose. When Benedictines meet, what do they say? “What congregation are you from? Are you active or contemplative?” Since, as a nun, I do not travel widely in Europe and, moreover, come from Belgium, a small country, these were new questions for me. To be able to reply that I came from a monastery affiliated with the same congregation as Asirvanam brought a smile of recognition.
In Western Europe monasteries resemble one another, but this does not mean monotony, since each country has its own style. In India, however, I found myself faced with a great diversity of families: there were Sylvestrine, Vallombrosian, Camaldolese and Benedictine monks (the latter from the Congregation of the Annunciation), Benedictine and Camaldolese nuns, sisters of St Lioba, of our Lady of Grace and Compassion, and of the Missionary Benedictines of Tutzing. Each family has its own style of foundation: there are important cenobitic communities (Mount Fano, Asirvanam, Shanti-Nilayam), semi-anachoretic foundations of men and women (Shantivanam), convents engaged in helping people (Grace and Compassion), and monastic houses (St Lioba).
While each of these communities has kept some features that came from its founding house, each has also succeeded in becoming engaged in a multiplicity of undertakings well adapted to local circumstances: missions, parishes, spiritual centres, schools, student hostels, crèches, hospitals, homes for the elderly, farms, animal husbandry, arts and crafts …
As a gyrovague going from cell to cell (10 monasteries in a week!) I found four communities that seem to illustrate the needs of the country and the expectations of its people. I would like to say something about each of them.
Shantivanam – Saccidanânda Ashram, Tamil Nadu.
With its hermitages scattered in the forest, its church, its fine mediation area, Shantivanam is still the Christian ashram desired by Jules Monchanin, Henri Le Saux and Bede Griffiths. But – sign of the times – the Camaldolese have just opened a new novitiate built on the European model. Many Westerners frequent the guest house and appreciate finding there a centre of Christian meditation with traditional Indian characteristics. I cannot forget the happy moment when Sr. Marie-Louis and Sr Sarananda, nuns of the neighbouring women’s community, and I called to mind the three founders, each of us having our own preference.
Shanti-Nilayam Abbey, Bangalore, Karnataka.
This is Sr Iona’s community, numerous and impressive when singing Office, with young and less young Sisters seated on the ground facing the altar. Some wore kavis, wishing to indicate their deeply Indian roots, while the majority used white habits to show their desire to be recognized as Catholic nuns. As soon as you entered the door, it was impossible not to think of the founding abbey, St Cecilia’s Abbey, Ryde, England, and its concern for a strictly contemplative life.
Sevasadan Hostel, St Benedict’s Convent, Cochin, Kerala.
This small, fraternal community, which is so welcoming, is responsible for a hostel for girls coming from all religious confessions. Here I had the pleasure of finding again the spontaneity, simplicity of life and sound training of the Sisters of St Lioba (Freiburg).
Grace and Compassion Priory, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu.
The Sisters of this young, dynamic community, who generously respond to the needs of the local people, gave me the joy of a profoundly “Indian” day. The time was divided for the first part into a circumambulation (by jeep!) of Arunchala, the mountain so dear to Dom Le Saux, recollection in a temple of Shiva, one of the great sanctuaries of India, and meditation at the Ramana Maharshi Ashram. The second part was spent visiting the various forms of service undertaken by the community: a hospital, a technical school and workshops, a crèche, and a farm. Three sisters who are deeply committed to their Benedictine life accompanied me that day and shared their discovery of the riches of the Ramana Maharshi spirituality.
Meeting these communities, which are well grounded in the local culture but careful to keep traces of Western Benedictine tradition, led me to ask some questions I scarcely dare formulate: Does every tradition keep an unchangeable nucleus derived from the culture from which it sprang? Is there any desire for the inculturation of Christian monasticism into the Indian cultural tradition? What is inculturation? Is the desire for monastic inculturation a projection of our Western exoticism that would be met by another form of exoticism, that of Indian wishing to preserve the Western origins of Christian monasticism? Is concern for praying in a common language a sufficient explanation for the general use of English in liturgical worship? In Sri Lanka, the Buddhists have decided not to speak it.
The signs of omnipresent prayer bear witness to the Indian’s profoundly religious life and are a call to love in the presence of God. The prayer of monks, morning prayers in the family, the muezzin’s call, puja before the village temple, candles offered to Mary by Christians and Muslims mingling together, the incessant flow of people in the Hindu and Jain temples, a basilica full of Christians, a chapel of the Blessed Sacrament open for adoration 24 hours a day, men and women profoundly absorbed in prayer, Westerners meditating in ashrams – all this speaks clearly. In confining the faith to a private universe, in passing it through the sieve of rationality, in banishing the external signs of religion, have we not amputated a vital dimension of our “humanity”?
At the Superiors’ meeting, an encounter of the faiths in an atmosphere of esteem and tolerance for the cause of peace formed the background to the official contributions. The Bishop of Kandy, Mgr Joseph Vianney Fernando, recalled that dialogue is not an option but the way to live the spirit of the Gospel. Fr Abbot Primate Notker Wolf invited us to see monastic stability as an opportunity to develop inter-faith engagement. A Sri Lankan Buddhist patriarch with spiritual authority over 5000 monks spoke of his conviction that Buddhist and Christian monks could work together by following their own traditions without being in competition with one another. Finally the Indian High Commissioner called for the authenticity of each faith to be lived to the full. He saw this as a positive factor in co-existence. All this urged BID towards a dynamic engagement with other faiths.
Following the important meetings at Bangalore and Makkiyad, the BID Commission has fully taken shape. An office has been set up to ensure follow-up. A contact-person has been designated in each monastery. A number of monks have personal friendly relations with representatives of other traditions. Some communities engage in inter-faith hospitality and meetings. Others, who are more reserved, contribute a positive approach to other religions by seeking information.
The chief part of the meeting also fell into the category of information. The theme “Love, Compassion, Forgiveness” was explored by Buddhist representatives in the presence of Christian monks whose questions revealed their concern for comprehension in depth. On the other hand, none of the Buddhist speakers attended the various responses to the theme made by the Christian participants. The absence of the Buddhists was caused by difficulties with the timetable, the need to take classes or observance of the monastic fast.
Sant’Anselmo’s request to Sr Iona about the possibility of organising a course of inter-faith lectures in the Bangalore area will certainly be a powerful stimulus to the Indian Commission.
I cannot fail to mention the prodigious hospitality of these countries. Fr Anselm of Mount Fano made himself entirely available and was concerned to introduce me to the life of the Sylvestrines, the beauty of Sri Lanka, its mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and palm groves, the high places of Theravada Buddhism (the Temple of the Tooth, the grottoes of Alu Vihara where the Tripitakas were first copied), and Dambulla.
Sr Iona also wanted me to get to know the Benedictine communities of South India and the realities of life there – quite a challenge for one week! She succeeded by drawing up an itinerary, appealing to the contact-persons in the communities that welcomed me, and leaving a little margin for the unforeseen to Providence. This was an excellent means for discovering the hospitality of the monasteries and also the unbelievable welcome afforded by the families and friends of the monks. There were shared meals in towns and country, and lodging where one was woken by the sound of the raga. All gave of their best. Twice people made train journeys of over 20 hours in order to accompany me from one place to the next. “If you are asked to go a mile….”
Indian Supreme Court Upholds Cow Slaughter Ban
Ah, and I was being taught in school the lie that India is, by constitution, a secular, socialist republic!
And now we have it certified — by no less "august" an "authority" than the Indian Supreme Court — that Hinduism is the State Religion of India!
The Big Question: How soon before it is upheld as "Constitutional" that all citizens and residents of India must publicly worship the Cow?
Let me out of this suspense!
Lúcio
Press Trust of India, Oct. 26, 2005, 13:27 IST. Page Source.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the 1994 Gujarat government order banning slaughter of bulls and bullocks over the age of 16 years.
A seven-judge constitutional bench headed by Chief Justice R C Lahoti set aside the judgement of the 1998 Gujarat High Court which termed it as unconstitutional.
The High Court had held that the government order imposed unreasonable restrictions on the Fundamental Rights of some petitioners who were involved in the trade.
The apex court upheld the constitutional validity of the Gujarat government order in a six to one verdict.
The matter, which was heard by a five-judge bench earlier, had been referred to a seven-judge bench for the interpretation of provisions of the constitution, specially with regard to status of directive principles viz a viz Fundamental Rights as well as the effect of introduction of article 31(C) and 51(A).
Meanwhile Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi termed the SC verdict as significant and said it would have an "impact on national life".
"Our Constitution provides for cow protection. Mahatma Gandhi also used to advocate it. But unfortunately it (ban on cow slaughter) was not done due to vote bank politics. The Gujarat Goverment had banned it and we are victorious today," Modi said.
He said the verdict was very significant for those who love the cow and believe in non-violence and it would have a major impact on our national life.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad also termed the apex court verdict as heartening for Hindus throughout the world.
"Cow and its progeny are the backbone of our economic, social and religious development," Parishad senior Vice-President Acharya Giriraj Kishore said.
He demanded that the centre and state governments immediately ban cow slaughter "as provided in the Constitution and as desired by the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi."
Thursday, October 27, 2005
How to be a Muslim 101? Thomas More Law Center cites double standard
[San Francisco, Oct. 18, 2005, Catholic News Agency.]
The Ann Arbor, Michigan based Thomas More Law Center is challenging a California public school district which they say indoctrinated impressionable middle-schoolers in the Muslim faith.
The group said that during a three-week project, the 12-year old students were "placed into Islamic city groups, took Islamic names, [and] wore identification tags that displayed their new Islamic name" along side of the Star and Crescent Moon — the symbol of Muslims.
In addition, they were given materials which instructed them to "Remember Allah always so that you may prosper."
The students also completed "the Islamic Five Pillars of Faith, including fasting, and memorized and recited the ‘Bismillah’ or ‘In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate,’ which students also wrote on banners that were hung on the classroom walls."
San Francisco’s Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will begin hearing Eklund vs. Byron Union School District tomorrow.
A San Francisco federal judge had previously ruled that the school district did not violate the constitution, but according to Richard Thompson, Chief Counsel of the Law Center, "There is a double-standard at play in this case. If the students had done similar activities in a class on Christianity, a constitutional violation would surely have been found."
He said that, "If the public school’s practice is upheld on appeal, all public schools should begin teaching classes on Christianity in the same manner as the Islam class was taught in this case."
Added Edward L. White III, trial counsel with the Law Center: "Rather than teach students about Islam, which is constitutional, the public school crossed the constitutional line and began indoctrinating students."
"The public school", he said, "placed students into the position of being trainees in Islam, which is impermissible in a public school."
Irrsh wrath falls on bishop who wants to redesign cathedral
By Tom Peterkin in Cobh, Ireland, Oct. 19, 2005, in The Telegraph.
A Roman Catholic bishop has caused uproar in Ireland over his plans to redesign a neo-Gothic cathedral built by one of the most celebrated ecclesiastical architects.
Bishop John Magee, a close friend of Pope John Paul II, has been granted planning permission to rip up an historic mosaic floor and dismantle a 100ft marble altar rail in St Colman's Cathedral, Cobh.
The alterations are part of his plan to extensively remodel the sanctuary, nave and transepts of the cathedral designed by Edward W Pugin, a man regarded as one of the most important Victorian architects of the Gothic revival.
Dr Magee, the Bishop of Cloyne and the former secretary to the previous pope, believes the changes are necessary to bring the style of worship in the cathedral into line with Vatican II guidelines that modernised Mass by ending the use of Latin and bringing the priest closer to the congregation.
Dr Magee wants to strip out 20 pews to extend the sanctuary into the body of the cathedral and lower it to the same level by removing three steps. He also wants to bring the bishop's chair and altar forward.
The move requires the removal of large portions of the mosaic floor laid by Ludwig Oppenheimer, of Manchester, who worked on the Co Cork cathedral built between 1867 and 1919.
The delicate mosaics depict religious symbols as well as the harp, signifying St Colman's sixth-century role as the Bard of Munster.
Bishop Magee would also like to redesign the adjacent marble-floored chapel built by Pugin and his partner George Ashlin for the lying in state of a bishop. He wants to transform the chapel into an ordinary mortuary for lay people.
Breaking up the altar rail will deprive people of the place where they have knelt to take communion for almost 100 years.
Although Cobh town council has approved the proposal, the decision has met with a huge number of objections and is now the subject of a legal challenge from the Irish government.
The Department of Heritage has lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanala, Ireland's planning appeal board, arguing that moving the mosaics is in breach of architectural guidelines.
The state versus Church row has also been fuelled by objections from the Irish Georgian Society and the Friends of St Colman's Cathedral, who have collected the signatures of 24,124 people in the diocese.
"These are drastic changes in this type of church," said Terry Pender, of the Friends of St Colman's. "This is a church where every stone, every carving was done with a particular reason in mind."
Donough Cahill, of the Irish Georgian Society, said: "The cathedral, and specifically its chancel and sanctuary, are an intact masterwork of high Victorian Gothic Revival design and craftsmanship.
"The alterations proposed would greatly undermine the character and integrity of these works and would diminish a major heritage asset for generations to come."
Objectors have cited a letter written by the current Pope in the 1990s referring to the renovation of Carlow Cathedral, Co Carlow, to bring it into line with Vatican II.
When he was Cardinal Ratzinger he said such changes were not mandatory.
Inspired by the great French medieval cathedrals, it is one of the finest examples of the work of Edward Welby Pugin, the architect who designed more than 100 Roman Catholic churches in the British Isles.
Dr Magee was unavailable for comment. But Father Jim Killeen, the diocese spokesman, said: "We are of the opinion that to facilitate the full activity of the people in the liturgy, the structure should lend to the experience of the community celebrating together.
"What we have at the moment is a significant spatial separation between the priest and all the people in the church."
No more "Christ" with a capital C in the Netherlands
Brussels, Oct. 19, 2005, Catholic News Agency — According to a new grammar rule in the Netherlands and Belgium, the name "Christ" will soon be written with a lower-case "c", as stipulated by an orthography reform published last Friday.
According to the Kath.net agency, the new spelling rules also will stipulate that the Dutch word for "jews" (joden) be spelled with a capital "J" when referring to nationality and with a lower-case "j" when referring to the religion. The changes will be mandatory starting in August 2006.
Comment
From now on, let's call those accursed countries, the Netherworlds.
Lúcio
lucio.mascarenhas [at] gmail.com
Disclaimer
This is to remind the reader that I do not necessarily always and entirely agree with the holistic positions of websites or people who's writings I post here.
Lúcio
lucio.mascarenhas [at] gmail.com
Bishops Marriage Conference Led by Supporter of Cohabitation and Divorce
TheFactIs.org, October 26, 2005. Volume 3, Number 12.
A Catholic theologian who opposes Church teaching on divorce and supports creating a betrothal ceremony for cohabitating couples just led a colloquium to assist US bishops with writing a pastoral letter on marriage.
The colloquium, which ended yesterday, was sponsored by the US Bishops' Committee on Marriage and Family and hosted by the Center for Marriage and Family at Creighton University in Omaha. It featured theologians and social scientist and had as its theme, "Promoting and Sustaining Marriage as a Community of Life and Love." According to a press release, the colloquium was a "major step" toward developing "a pastoral letter on marriage" and was "intended for the current and incoming members and advisors of the Marriage and Family Committee."
The director of Creighton's Center on Marriage and Family, Michael J. Lawler, served as the colloquium's chief facilitator. Lawler is well known for his heterodox views on divorce and cohabitation. A review of Lawler's book, "Marriage and the Catholic Church: Disputed Questions," in the left-of-center Catholic magazine "America", explains Lawler's take on divorce: "The governing agenda is to show how divorce and remarriage can be justified historically, canonically and theologically. Lawler argues that the sacramental character of marriage depends on personal faith. Therefore (contrary to canon law and current official teaching), sacramentality cannot attend the union of two persons, even two baptized persons, who do not intend, or who cease to experience, a mutual love that in faith makes God and Christ present." According to the review, Lawler also "proposes a formal betrothal ceremony to recognize and legitimize [cohabitation] and to provide an opportunity for marriage preparation."
In 2004 the US bishops committed themselves to a multi-year National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage. According to the USCCB's website, the centerpiece of the Initiative will be a pastoral letter. "It will deal with contemporary concerns about marriage from a foundation in Catholic doctrine and pastoral practice. It will draw from the experience and expertise of many, including engaged and married couples, social scientists, theologians, educators, communications experts, and others." Savannah Bishop J. Kevin Boland, chairman of the Marriage and Family Committee, said, "The colloquium will play a key role in our pastoral initiative by bringing together Catholic teaching on marriage with the latest research from the social sciences."
Theologians at the colloquium included Dr. John S. Grabowski, Catholic University; Dr. Julie Hanlon Rubio, St. Louis University; and Dr. Wendy M. Wright, Creighton University. Social scientists included Dr. Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, National Marriage Project and Rutgers University; Dr. W. Bradford Wilcox, Institute for American Values; and School Sister of Notre Dame Barbara Markey, Ph.D., Family Life Office, Archdiocese of Omaha.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
A Time For Parting
In my research into the Paganisation of Christianity in South Asia, I found a group which seemed promising, and which I then joined and posted my queries on this subject. However, the time is now come for me to leave this forum. The letter below sets out my reasons.
I will be collating the posts from this forum which have relevance to me, and post a link to them here on this blog.
Dear Mangalorean Catholic Friends,
I had come here for a specific purpose (See my first post), and not for anything else. However, I found myself sucked into an exchange with pagans on this list. We have reached a point where one particular person, a pagan, is obnoxiously siccing his demoness-bitch "Shantadurga" upon me, even when I have specifically forbidden it, and where the moderator has not thought it fit to pre-empt this vileness.
This is an intolerable insult to my faith, to my God, and is contrary to all standards of courtesy and polite behavior. Not that I am surprised at the behavior of the pagan... for if a pagan and a heathen shall not act in this offensive manner, committing aggression against the Children of Light, in accordance with his Father, Satan, who will?
But enough is enough. I will not countenance my faith being mocked, and I will not bandy words with dogs.
Our Lord commands that where the Gospel is not respected, one must go away from that community, and shake off the dust of one's slippers, promising that God will be more lenient in judging Soddom and Gomorrah than that community. I would be unfaithful if I failed to care when the Gospel is insulted publicly and by leave of the elders and rulers of the community!
Therefore, effectively today, I am quitting this forum.
I wish to thank you for your kind attitude towards me and for tolerating my presumption to post here, when I am but a guest - a Goan, and not a Mangalorean.
That is true of the Moderator, also, who has generously indulged me.
Moreover, this is one of the few groups where I have found people, to my surprise, who care for their Christian heritage, unlike so many other groups in which I have been.
For this reason, I strongly commend you, who are faithful to your Catholic heritage, and encourage you to act further to protect and progress it, guarding souls from corruption, and rescuing the lost sheep, bringing those lost to paganism and Protestantism back to the Holy Faith.
But beware of adulteration and of contamination by contact with unrepentant pagans and heathens!
Obey the Lord in fulness, and He will bless you! Permit yourself to be corrupted by human respect, and He will pour out His wrath upon you! Each soul must make his / her own choices.
One American poet had written, "The fool that knoweth that he is a fool, a pundit atleast he is in that!".
Indeed, I consider myself to be numbered amongst the greatest of sinners, and do not presume upon my salvation, seeing how that St. Paul the Apostle himself, despite his greatness and Apostolic office, did not presume to his salvation.
And like St. Thomas of Aquinas, but by no means his equal, I consider myself as being little better than an ass, yet, I rejoice in the Lord: Having slain an entire army of Philistines with the jawbone of an ass, what may He not do with an entire ass!
Therefore, even though I am acutely conscious of my lackings, I cannot keep quite when malefactors distort and corrupt the Holy Faith so that they may seduce souls to eternal damnation.
Lastly, in parting, I will reply in short to the post of one who has written discribing himself / herself as a "liberal".
You must know that you can have no arguments with us who are Christians, who conform to God and His Holy Word, the Bible.
Your argument is not with us, but with God.
It is God, and not we that condemn false, man-made religions, and who commands the Christian to abhor them and their rites and their temples (which are really demonariums).
God is not my puppet who sits on my lap and parrots what I whisper in His ears.
And since you have a quarrel with God, please confine yourself to procuring from Him a public alteration of His constant and eternal teachings and instructions in the Holy Bible, so that the spiritual fornications that you indulge in, become legitimate for all Christians.
Then, once that has been done, you may reproach us if we refuse to conform.
Our Lord warned us: "Scandal there must needs be, but woe to him by whom scandal comes".
And again: "Woe to him that cause the least of these children to be scandalized".
You are — or may pretend to be — learned, granting yourself the indulgence to be an Antinomian (See Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912: The Antinomian Heresy), but there are millions of souls who are not.
Seeing one person who is externally Christian participating in the pythonic rites of the demon worshippers, they will also believe that it is legitimate for them too, and so their souls will be lost, and their blood shall be laid upon your charge.
You may delude yourself all you want, but it is certain that you belong to, and labor for Satan, and so, you DO have a demon possessing you, for you harken not to the Lord, whom you contemn, but you harken unto the lost angels howling from the eternal dark.
And, where great saints, confessors, doctors and martyrs of the Holy Faith have not presumed on their eternal salvation, for as St. Paul the Apostle teaches: "Let he who thinketh himself to stand, beware, lest he falls!", here you are who not only fornicates openly with the demons and their adherents but you also delude yourself and commit the grave mortal sin of presumption by pretending that, after having publicly, pertinaciously and contumaciously sinned and scandalized and caused the loss of souls, you shall assuredly be saved.
Speak of delusions!
There is no shame in being a sinner - there is shame in being an unrepentant sinner, indeed, one who celebrates one's spiritual fornications and flaunts them in the public eye!
Enough of this. I had come for information on paganisations in the Church, not that I require much, for I already have much information (and Mr. Michael Prabhu's report, which I am still going through, is interesting in this regard).
However, what I do not yet have, and which I yet seek, is corroboration of my belief that no Christian community in South Asia or the East Indies ever were permitted by the Church to have, until 1958 , or had, any such purely pagan practices, such as the Aarti.
That corroboration I still await, and I invite members who care for the Gospel of Christ to make an effort and reply to me.
You may email me or visit me at my blog, http://repairmychurch.blogspot.com.
Once again, I thank you for having borne with me, and take your leave.
Lúcio
lucio.mascarenhas at gmail.com
Paganisation of Christianity
Dear Mr. Meneses,
Here is my re-edited transcription of the article from the Times of India, Bombay, October 25, 2005:
"Church To Discuss Indianisation"
by Abhay Vaidhya for Times News Network
Pune: The Catholic Church would take up the study of Sanskrit, adapt to monastic life in an ashram and adopt the Hindu ritual of 'aarti' during mass if the movement towards 'Indianisation of the church' gets a nod form the 400 priests and five bishops convening in Pune.
Starting Tuesday, Pune's Papal Seminary which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of tis transfer from Kandy in Sri Lanka to Pune, will play host to the priests for three days.
Discussions will cover the state of the Church in India and the movement for its indianisation. The Catholic Church has already adopted a number of Indain traditions and practices and has come a long way four decades after the historic Second Vatican Counci (1962-1965) brought an epochal shift in the modern church through its declaration on religious liberty. Pune's Papal Seminary which has ordained over 1,250 priests during the past 50 years, has continued with its modernisation effort along with its associate institutions such as the Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth ("University of the Light of Knowledge") or JDV, formerly the Pontifical Athenaeum, and the De Nobili College.
Pune-based Catholic leaders like Jospeh Neuner, Kurien Kunnumpuram, Francis Xavier de Sa, John Vattanky and Subhash Anand have been demanding lesser control from the Vatican, to make the Church "truly Indian and genuinely Christian." As De Sa, an internationally acclaimed Sanskrit scholar noted in his paper published in 'Dreams & Visions: New Horizons For An Indian Church (2002)': "Today, the time has come for the Indian Church to shed its image of a multinational company and retrieve those characteristics which bring out its 'catholicity' in the best sense of the word."
Pandikattu Kuruvilla, teacher of philosophy at the JDV and the Papal Seminary's rector Ornellas Coutinho explained a number of Indian religious customs and practices have already been embraced by the Catholic Church to become truly Indian.
"A number of Christian priests strictly follow the ancient Indian ashram system of monastic life, such as those at the Bethany Vedavijnana Peeth in Pune, the Satchidananda Ashram in Trichy, the Kurusumala Ashram in Kerala and the Sameskshna Ashram in Kalady, Kerala," Kuruvilla said. "Practicing vegetarianism, organising satsanghs and readings from the Bhagawat Gita during Mass, reducing the use of cassocks, performing puja-style prayers are some examples of the changes that have taken place," he said.
Mr. Michael Prabhu's website is http://www.ephesians511.net
His personal life or biography is here: http://www.ephesians511.net/about.html
And this is the link to his report on Paganisation in the "Ashram Movement": http://www.ephesians511.net/images/CATHOLIC%20ASHRAMS.doc
Further, these two articles will also be of interest:
Mann opposes RSS chief's bid to redefine minorities
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1505007,000900010001.htm
Phagwara, September 30, 2005. Press Trust of India.
The attempt of RSS chief SK Sudarshan to "redefine" minorities by stating that only Parsis and Jews were minorities has stirred up a hornets nest.
SAD(A) president and a former Sangrur MP Simranjit Singh Mann on Thursday alleged that this statement smacked of sinister bid of RSS for the "Hinduisation" of religious minorities like Christians, Muslims, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists who were given minority status by the Constitution.
"By sermonising to the church to Indianise, RSS chief was trying to intimidate Christians and our party would not allow this to happen, Mann said.
"Indianisation of the church tantamount to Hinduisation of Christians," he said adding that it also meant that the RSS chief considered minorities like Christians, Muslims and Sikhs as Hindus and "we won't tolerate it", Mann said.
"Hindus had brutally assaulted members of Punjab Christian Movement when they were peacefully proceeding to the office of Jalandar DC for presenting a memorandum three days ago, he said.
Again:
Fundamentalist group urges Christians and Muslims to "return to being Hindu"
http://www.asianews.it/view.php?l=en&art=4266
by Nirmala Carvalho, 5 October, 2005. India.
The RSS, a Hindu paramilitary movement, calls for the removal of minority status for Christians and Muslims, urging a return to "Indianisation". The Bishops' Conference is quick to respond.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) – "Christian and Muslim communities are religious minorities". Such was the response of Fr Babu Joseph, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and director of communications, to comments made by the leader of a paramilitary movement of extremist Hindus.
K. S. Sudarshan, who heads the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had declared that Christians and Muslims cannot renounce their minority status.
In an interview with AsiaNews, Fr Joseph said "Sudarshan's comments on Indians who are Christians and Muslims, that they are not minorities because they were all once Hindus, are unwarranted and uncalled for. The Constitution of India has recognised these two communities as religious minorities, and as such has granted them constitutional guarantees which must be respected by all, including Sudarshan.
"Sudarshan may have his personal beliefs and perspectives, but they are no substitute for the collective will of a nation that wants to protect the vulnerable sections of society particularly religious and linguistic minorities. Besides, the United Nations has recognised the existence of religious and linguistic minorities universally, and has put in place guidelines and parameters to protect their interests and create space for their growth and development."
The RSS leader had said Catholics and Muslims could not aspire to minority status because they were of Indian origin. "You can't call yourself a minority merely by changing the way of worship," Sudershan said in comments to the Press in the city of Jalandhar, (Punjab, northern India); the majority of the city's population adheres to the Sikh religion. He added that only the Parsis (followers of Zoroaster) and Jews could lay claim to minority status, because their ancestors had come to India from foreign countries.
Asked if he thought Sikhs were a minority, Sudarshan merely said Christians and Muslims did not fall into the minority category and he invited the church in the country to "indianise". He also touched upon conversion activities carried out by missionaries, saying his organization was always opposed to the use of force or enticement. And he said he had raised this matter in a meeting with Catholic bishops in Kerala.
All of this leads one to the inevitable conclusion that there is a COLLUSION between certain leaders of the Church in India and the Pagans, who wish to destroy Christianity in India, by reducing it to a paganized, apostate and domesticated sect!
Those "Christian leaders" — priests, nuns, bishops, "theologians", etc., who are organizing the Pune convention, evidently have as their final objective, the wholesale reversion of Christians in South Asia to Hinduism!
It is impossible to NOT conclude that the Pune Convention is meeting precisely to answer the "Call" by Sudarshan to re-Hinduize!
You will also remember the testimony of the seminarians who were expelled from St. Pius X Seminary, Bombay, by Ivan Dias because they refused to join their teachers and fellow-students from removing their crosses and entering a Hindu temple for a retreat over several days, worshipping the Hindu idols of their demons.
See statements of three of these four seminarians: Gregorio Noronha, Lourenço de Sousa & Antonio Rodrigues: http://www.sspxasia.com/Newsletters/2004/Jan-Jun/Indian_Seminaries.htm
Again, Brother Lourenço de Sousa's Hinduism at a Glance &
Scandalous Ecumenism with Hinduism.
See also SSPX editorial on Cardinal Kasper's statement setting out the objectives of Ecumenism: http://www.sspxasia.com/Newsletters/2003/Jul-Dec/Editorial.htm.
Lastly, see the 1953 article by Louis de Wohl on St. Francis Xavier's missions: Set All Afire!.
This testimony of Ronaldo Cardoso, who lost his faith in the seminary and has recently converted to the Charismatic Renewal, would be of interest: http://www.jcilm.org/index_files/Rony.htm
Please feel free to distribute.
Regards,
Lúcio
lucio.mascarenhas at gmail.com
Prayer for Protection Through The Most Precious Blood of Jesus
Lord Jesus, by faith in Thine infinite merits, I now take Thine Most Precious Blood and sprinkle it over myself and my family and unto all men of good will, right from the crowns of our heads to the very soles of our feet. I claim total and complete protection for our lives and for all those that are in most need of Thy protection.
Lord Jesus, keep us free today from all evils, sins, temptations, the attacks and afflictions of Satan, the fear of darkness, the fear of men, from sickness, from diseases, from doubts, from anger, from all calamities and from all that is not of Thy kingdom.
Fill us, Lord Jesus with Thy Holy Ghost and with all His gifts and especially grant unto us the gifts of wisdom, of knowledge, of faith, of understanding and of discernment so that we shall be able to live this day and all our lives in Thy glory by doing that what is right and just in Thy sight.
I praise Thee, my sweet Lord Jesus;
I give thank to Thee, my sweet Lord Jesus;
I love Thee above all things, my sweet Lord Jesus;
I adore Thee, my sweet Lord Jesus.
Bind me to Thyself and never permit me to be separated from Thee. Amen.
[Modified from a text sent to me by a Ronaldo de Sousa]
About "Repair My Church"
One day St. Francis of Assisi was praying in the dilapidated church of St. Damian. As he knelt before an image of the crucified Christ, he distinctly heard a voice coming from the cross, telling him three times:
"Francis, go and repair my Church, which, as you see, is falling into ruin."
St. Francis initially thought that this was a command to literally repair the Church of St. Damian, to which work he bent all his energies successfully. However, as his understanding developed, he understood that there was another, higher dimension to this command, and that Our Lord was directing him to efforts to repair the Universal Church, then beset with corruption and degraded clerics.
St. Francis went on to found the Order of the Little Brothers (Ordo Fratrum Minorum), commonly called the Franciscans, who played a pivotal part in the reform of the Church in that age (See the Life of St. Francis).
Today, the Church is once again beset with corruption, error, heresy and even apostasy. The wolves are in full cry, and the shepherds, by and large, asleep on their watch. The time demands another effort at Repairing (NOT REFORMING or deforming the Church to conform to passing fashions of thoughts and ideas) like that of St. Benedict of Nursia, Pope St. Gregory or Hildebrand, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, St. Vincent Ferrer, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. John Bush or Giovanni Melchior Bosco, Pope St. Pius IX or Mastai-Ferreti, Pope St. Pius X or Giuseppe Sarto (son of a Polish father and an Italian mother), etc.
This blog is dedicated to this end. And hopefully, this ministry, of Repairing the Church, will flourish, save souls and Edify the Church.
Dedication
I place this endeavor under the patronage, first of all, of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary our Mother:
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And also of the Most Holy Mother of God, especially under invocation of her titles of Our Lady of Victories (Nikopoeia), Our Lady of Portugal, Our Lady of Goa and Our Lady of Liberation (or Nossa Senhora da Livramento, which is my village chapel), St. Agnelo Gustavo de Sousa of Anjuna, St. Jose Vas who Repaired the Church of Ceylon, the Holy Martyrs of Cuncolim, the Holy Martyrs under the persecutions of Shivaji and Shambaji, the Holy Apostles Thomas and Bartholomeo, the Holy Martyrs of Thana, the Holy Orphan-Martyrs of Agashi, St. Goncalo Garcia, St. Francis Xavier, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Christopher, St. George, St. Philomena, St. Ursula, and lastly but not the least, St. Catherine of Alexandria on whose day the illustrious Dom Affonso de Albuquerque liberated Goa from the twin benightments of Mohemmadanism and Indian paganism.
Ad majorem Dei gloriam!
Lúcio Mascarenhas
lucio.mascarenhas at gmail.com
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