By Nazar (Naz) da Silva nazardasi...@gmail.com I was barely six years old when I was admitted into boarding school. That was more than eighty years ago. As I was not of age to be in the Boy's Boarding at St. Vincent's Poona, I had to spend my first year in a convent school (St. Michael's, Karwar) where my elder sister was boarding.
I still recall many incidents and persons from those magical days: in both Karwar and Poona; they are very precious to me. It was during the time of Fr. Reklin. Great guy. He was the Principal of St. Vincent's, and also Master of -- pardon the pun -- a 'boysterous' brass band that was the envy of Poona Cant. Academically and on the sports field, St. Vincent's was (and still is, I am sure) an institution to be reckoned with. It was managed by dedicated Jesuit clergy; they lived in a residence adjoining the school. The hostel for boarders of all ages (from 7 to 17 years), was in the adjoining compound. There were some forty students housed there under the supervision of a priest who lived on the premises. Names I remember are Bronger, Shok, Hefli, Thiel and others, all from Europe, either Switzerland or Germany, all men of sterling character that stood firmly by their wards and imparted a high sense of moral standards, merely by their example and their counselling. It brings 'a smile to my lips and a tear to my eye' when I think of those stalwarts of far-gone days. By the most basic of moral standards, the world is taking a horrific beating since those halcyon days. True, the Catholic Church has its fair share of bad eggs; there was one, even among the twelve chosen by Christ himself to establish His Church; but through the centuries, there never has been such an avalanche of such vicious sexual violence by 'trusted priests' against helpless, innocent little children. It is a crime that is nothing short of sacrilege. The outrageous cover-up resorted to by some consecrated bishops is equally reprehensible and disgraceful. It is plain and simple criminal connivance; nothing less. In retrospect, the truth is a lot more serious than it is made out to be. The bulwark of the Catholic Church is family. It is from the family that the clergy and the religious, including the Holy Father is chosen, ideally by "vocation", that is 'a calling from God above'. However, infiltration by those without a vocation cannot be ruled out since, with the gift of life, we are privileged with a freedom of choice. Over the years, this gift of choice has come under sustained attack. The world chose to substitute Liberty with Licentiousness. Convents and boarding schools, similar to the innocent institutions I lived in, in my youth, have become vulnerable. On the prowl are the most innocent looking men with charming ways. There is one word that describes them: paedophiles. Paedophiles will go to any extremes to satiate their perverse sexual hunger; they will infiltrate the seminaries, study fervently for the priesthood and get spuriously ordained only to attain what they consider to be, their 'paradise': free food, free board, free lodging, free transportation, free holidays, free adulation for the position they hold, and their biggest prize? Free pickings of innocent, helpless victims who are coerced into silence, -- if not by anything else, -- by shame. The weapon of shame has served to embolden the criminals to the extent of establishing a fraternity of paedophiles in every stage of the hierarchy, from a minor parish or seminary, right up to the purple in the Vatican. They have sold their souls to Satan and severely undermined the creditability of the Church. This is the reality that we, the Church, the Body of Christ, must face and deal with, according to the tenets of our faith. Our foremost and greatest concern should be to reach out with genuine love and compassion, to the victims of the predators: console all those who have been violated; extend to them our most sincere sorrow for having failed to protect them when they were most vulnerable; reassure them of our deep concern for their well-being, provide them with sound counselling, and support them in every way, to restore in them a true sense of their worth in God's eyes and, importantly, their own human dignity. As for the Church, it faces a humongous problem to restore in the flock the confidence that has been simply shattered. We all share responsibility for ignoring the signs of the Evil Spirit working insidiously to undermine the integrity of the Holy Church. It is time we visited the Garden of Gethsemane; not to fall asleep there, but to reach out to our Saviour Lord sweating blood as He contemplated his Agony. Draw comfort from this truth: "No Cross -- No Crown". -- Nazar da Silva. Moira, Goa Phone: (091-832) 2470290. Goanet Reader invites Goanetters to share their thoughts, experiences, reminiscences and creative writing via this network. Mail your best writing to fredericknoron...@gmail.com and feel free to discuss this piece by sending your comments via email to goa...@goanet.org Goanet Reader is edited by Frederick Noronha.