PANAJI
Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) Secretary General Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, SFX, on Wednesday bluntly said if Das was unable to control his ideological hatred, "then it is time for him to go. The BJP party has many leaders who can do a better job on all fronts."
The four-page open letter by Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas has gone viral on online media and has generated discussions across the country.
Incidentally, Bishop Mascarenhas is a member of the Pilar Fathers and was auxiliary bishop of Ranchi in 2014, before being posted as the CBCI secretary general in New Delhi. The Pilar Fathers are involved in missionary work in Jharkhand.
In his letter to Modi, Bishop Mascarenhas said he was making this open appeal "with much sorrow and anguish, but also with hope. You might be aware that there is spiralling hatred being created by the chief minister belonging to your party, which if not controlled immediately, could take the State and its people down the streets of violence and hate."
"Jharkhand is a State where despite abject poverty and miserable living conditions, people of all faiths and confessions, Tribals and non-Tribals, Dalits and others have been living in peace with each other."
"This was till the chief minister embarked on a different agenda. He began some months ago with vitriolic attacks against the Christian Community. He came out with a full front page advertisement in prominent dailies of the State, accusing Christian missionaries of converting poor Dalits and Tribals."
Bishop Mascarenhas reminded Modi that "the Catholic Church has time and again reiterated that it strongly opposes forced conversions. But at the same time, it stands by its rights to ‘preach, practice and propagate' its faith as per Articles 25-28 of the Constitution."
The Goan bishop also expressed anguish over the burning of an effigy of Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, a prominent and respected religious leader in Jharkhand and an ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
"Our Missionaries have sacrificed and many have died of malaria and tuberculosis at a young age striving to serve the deprived sections of society in remote areas. We have not done it for political or selfish motives."
"We will continue to work for the neglected sections of society through education, healthcare and other uplifting activities. We are not doing this to "milk the poverty" to make them Christians - we are doing it because our religion teaches us to serve the poorest of the poor," said Bishop Mascarenhas.
"The Church has as usual not responded to the provocations of the chief minister. It is not because we are afraid, it is not because we are weak. That the Christians have not responded should not be taken as a sign of weakness. We are not speaking about ourselves, we are speaking about the people of Jharkhand," the CBCI secretary general told Modi.
"I appeal to you, honourable prime minister, with trust and hope to intervene and curb the spread of hate created by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Jharkhandis and Jharkhand deserves better," he added.
