Sandesh Prabhudesai
16 September 1998
Should any religious place be always controlled by the all-powerful church or can they function independently, without being under direct control of the Archbishop ?
The clash has arisen in the port town of Vasco, where over thousand devotees of Our Lady of Vailankani are protesting against the move of Goa Archbishop Raul Gonsalves to take over the chapel, run by the working class belonging to all religions and communities.
The battle however is on, with the backing of Fr Michael Fernandes, a local priest, who has joined hands with the devotees to fight the Bishop. They are irked over Bishops' sudden intervention in stopping the Saturday evening mass meant for the workers of the Mormugao Port Trust and other factories in the port town.
"Illegitimate structure', as it has been described by the Bishop's House, while asserting that no religious services would be allowed to run independently. Church authorities also refuse to call it a chapel until it is recognised and the local committee is approved by the Archbishop.
Around 15 years ago, a Tamilian Hindu "Kanda Swami" erected a statue of Our Lady of Vailankani, on a mud pedestal at Major Bundar outside the MPT gates, which was later turned into a chapel at the initiative of local workers.
It was later blessed in 1984 by Fr Antonio Couto, the Vasco parish priest, allowing Saturday evening mass fulfilling Sunday obligation. It helped a great deal for the workers, who had no hassles getting up early morning on Sundays to go for a mass, after working hard for the whole week.
The mass was attended even by the workers belonging to other religions, who look at Our Lady of Vailankani as their own Goddess, besides the Roman Catholics in the port town.
Anthony Fernandes, founder president of the chapel committee, wonders how Archbishop Gonsalves could declare the place unholy and illegal now when he had personally attended the chapel's Vailankani feast nine years ago. He once again visited the chapel on 8 September, to bless it.
"Holiness does not come with the Bishop's blessings, but with the devotees coming together to uphold secular values of the society", says Fr Fernandes. He is convinced that Bishop's move is motivated by the upper caste Catholics in Goa, who have been controlling the Church institution here.
Fr Carmo Martins, spokesperson from the Bishop's Palace, clarifies that the Archbishop has not blessed the place but had gone there twice only to celebrate the mass. While claiming that the church has not stopped the mass, he also claims that the chapel does not become sacred just because religious services were allowed in the past.
Anthony Fernandes, backed by devotees to maintain the chapel's independence, has charged that the Bishop has eye on the assets worth Rs five lakh accumulated in the chapel. The workers' committee, elected every three years, has refused to function under newly designated neighbouring Desteiro church.
According to Fr Martins, the parish priest of the Desteiro church was within his rights to stop the mass at the disputed place, because it is not recognised as the chapel by the authorities. He also claims that the mass is not stopped but being temporarily shifted to the Desteiro church, till the matter is resolved.
"In the name of religion and administration of the sacrament, the church authorities are trying to control the material assets of the chapel and deprive the laymen workers from exercising their proper role in the affairs of the church", alleges Fernandes.
"They are free to say anything and do anything. But our attempt is to regularise it. If they don't, then no priest would be allowed to go there. If anybody goes, then he would suffer for it", he cautions, hinting at Fr Michael Fernandes' open association with the devotees.
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