Church must continue mission to liberate oppressed: Archbishop

PANAJI
Stating that the voice of Jesuit social activist late Fr Stan Swamy had been silenced by the powers that be, Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrão on Friday hoped that many more Stans may be born from among the people and through them, the Church in India may continue her mission to liberate the oppressed.

Archbishop Ferrão, who is also president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), delivered a powerful and strongly-worded address at the online “Tribute to a Prophet of Our Time,” (Fr Stan Swamy), organised by the Jesuits of West Zone Provinces of India.

Describing late Fr Stan as a stalwart defender of the rights of the most oppressed and impoverished tribals in India, one who kept the faith, fought the good fight and finished his race, Archbishop Ferrão said he had dedicated his life to fight for the rights of the rightless and to give a voice to the voiceless for several decades.

“On Monday, that voice fell silent, or rather, was silenced by the powers that be. The powerful and the mighty were afraid of the superior power of this frail octogenarian, enfeebled by Parkinson’s disease. Today, they must be happy that a huge stumbling block has been removed from their destructive path,” said Archbishop Ferrão.

The archbishop said Fr Stan, the prophet of our time, is gone, but his struggle is far from over. “Till the very end, Stan was overburdened with the plight of lakhs of people languishing in filthy prisons for years on end, unconvicted, untried, even uncharged! They are all accused of crimes they never committed.”

Along with them, crores of people are suffering at the hands of unfeeling lords, victims of social ostracism, disfigured by poverty, hunger and disease, Archbishop Ferrão said.

The online tribute, which has already generated over 10,500 views, was moderated by Goan Jesuit and executive director of the Delhi-based Indian Social Institute Fr Denzil Fernandes SJ and the speakers included Archbishop Emeritus of Gandhinagar Stanislaus Fernandes SJ, Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay Allwyn D’Silva, Bishop of Poona Thomas Dabre, Provincial of the Goa Jesuits Fr Roland Coelho SJ, President of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia (JCSA) Fr Stanislaus D’Souza SJ, human rights activist Fr Cedric Prakash SJ, St Peter’s Church (Bandra) Parish Priest and former principal of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Fr Frazer Mascarenhas SJ, Fr Durai Fernando SJ and noted activists, Teesta Setalvad, Dr Albertina Almeida, Adv Mihir Desai, Rajesh Christian, Adv Shanti Maria Fonseca and George Chirappurathu.