Why is the Church always apologizing?
This is with reference to ‘In the name of church, pope asks for forgiveness’ (The Goan Everyday, October 15). The message of Christ to love and forgive has started to ring more meaningfully it seems during the present pontificate of Pope Francis, in sharp contrast to the church’s earlier rigid stance during the pre-Vatican II era. That we are a church of sinners is a well-accepted fact, but one wonders whether it is necessary for every pope to take upon himself the guilt of the entire church and publicly apologise and ask forgiveness for sins committed in the past and present. It all started during the pontificate of Pope Saint John Paul II who called for a universal “mea culpa” for the church’s past misdeeds and the rich harvest of faith reaped through sword and bible. Ever since, successive popes have apologized every time scandals such as sexual abuse cases in the church came to light involving some priests and bishops. Such apologies become meaningless unless serious efforts are made to purge the church of unwanted elements who have brought disgrace and disrepute to the church. In this respect Pope Francis is doing an excellent job.
A F Nazareth, Porvorim
Investigate Colvale incident
The incident that rocked Colvale jail is an unfortunate event and enmity, ethnicity and rivalry played a role in is this bizarre shocking incident when a Nigerian grabbed a lathi from a jail guard and attacked the other jail guards which ultimately led to a free for all. The foreign nationals are Nigerians, Israelis and a Portuguese citizen. The Nigerians in particular are known the world over and even in different parts of India for drug peddling.
It is natural for their respective consulates to come forward and take up the cause for their citizens. Since National Human Rights Commission is also probing this affair, the matter assumes significance of violations of human rights of all the parties, the foreigners, other prisoners as well as the jail guards and it is for the state government to act in a prudent manner to protect rights and liberties of all concerned and to avoid such reoccurrences of taking law in their own hands.
Francis Fernandes, Margao
Part of the battle
With the rise of the present dispensation at the centre, a lot was expected as they promised a lot through their election campaign. But the scenario in our country is slowly but steadily changing. The occurrence of anti-social elements in different parts of India is not a good sign. There is a trend to muffle vibrant and eloquent voices. Minorities feel vulnerable. Some writers too are systematically silenced. In protest, and rightly so, some of the writers have returned their awards conferred on them by the Sahitya Academi. One respects their decision and action as well. Returning the awards is only one of the ways of protesting. Though the message is loud and clear, the respectful and renowned writers of our country must not give up the battle just because of some insensible ideologues and fringe groups. After all, the pen is mightier than the sword.
Rui Pereira, Navelim
