PANAJI
Amid recent incidents of videos going viral in social media of homilies by priests raising questions over beliefs and gods of other religions, Archbishop Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao on Saturday stepped in to express “deep regret” in a public statement.
Ferrao also said in the statement that the Church's leadership has taken appropriate action and warned those involved to avoid such utterances.
The statement comes a day after Chief Minister Pramod Sawant reacted sharply and warned of action against hate speech from anyone, either Hindu or Catholic, when his attention was drawn by journalists to one such video in which a priest in a homily spoke dismissively of 'gods' from other religions.
The video had gone viral on social media.
Meanwhile, the Archbishop expressed regret that such utterances had violated the authentic spirit of inter-religious dialogue and reciprocal respect.
“It is distressing to note that certain expressions used recently in public by some members of the Catholic Church may have hurt the religious sentiments of people of other religious traditions. According to the teachings of the Church, Catholics are called to acknowledge, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral truths found in the social life and culture of other religious traditions,” Ferrao said in the statement.
"Pope Francis has reiterated the Church’s commitment to promote religious harmony and has cautioned against using religions to incite hatred, violence, extremism and blind fanaticism, and to refrain from using God’s name to justify acts of violence, injustice and oppression, which degrade the dignity of human life,” the Archbishop's statement adds.
“India is blessed with a confluence of different religions, languages and cultures. This enriching diversity constitutes the very identity of our nation, and every citizen has the sacred duty to value and respect others’ cultural heritage and religious integrity,” he further said adding Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is a value that is embedded in our ethos.
“We deeply regret that certain recent pronouncements made by some members of the Church have gone against the authentic spirit of inter-religious dialogue and reciprocal respect. We wish to assure that the Church leadership has taken appropriate action with regard to them and has also sternly warned them to avoid such utterances in the future”, he said.
He also urged the Catholic community to adhere to the Church's teachings and refrain from words or actions that may offend the religious sensitivities of others.
