Rise Above Party, Petty Politics, ‘Red Pope’ Dias Tells Politicians By SAR NEWS
MUMBAI, Maharashtra (SAR NEWS) -- Cardinal Ivan Dias, Archbishop of Bombay and the newly appointed 37th Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Vatican’s crucial department, said politicians should place the well-being of the nation before their personal, party and petty interest. “I have a dream that India may have an abundance of not only political parties and politicians but above all, of statesmen and women, who will place the well-being of the whole nation before their personal, party and petty interests,” Cardinal Dias, known as the ‘Red Pope’ due to the extraordinary authority and influence he wields over five continents said. “Politicians should be ever alert and ready to combat the three evils of communalism, casteism and corruption which pose a constant threat to our beloved Bharat Mata (Mother India)”, the prelate told a huge gathering in Mumbai at the grand farewell ceremony June 25 organised by the Archdiocese of Bombay. “I have a dream that politicians should be known for their noble intentions and selfless love for the poor and the marginalised. They should be outstanding in moral integrity,” Cardinal Dias, who will take charge of his new powerful office in the Vatican City June 26, said. “I have a dream that the thirsting India’s teeming millions should seek to be led ‘from untruth to truth, from darkness to light, and from death to immortality’,” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, 1.3.28), Cardinal Dias, fluent in 18 languages, said. “I have a dream that the wonderful megapolis of Mumbai and the whole of Indian subcontinent may progress and flourish in human, humane and spiritual virtues. The prelate said the nation’s overall progress should not so much be gauged by the economic sensex, but rather by the rise and fall of their civic sense and moral values. The authority of the crucial Vatican’s department headed for the first time by an Indian cardinal extends to over five continents, with over 2,400 archbishops and bishops under his charge for various works of the Church. Describing the relief and rehabilitation work and over 100 newly built houses handed over recently to the tribals, who were victims of the apocalyptic monsoon deluge last year in Raigad district in the Konkan region, Cardinal Dias said all the health, educational and social projects of the Catholic Church in the country had “no ulterior motives of conversions”. He said there was more need of more continued thrust of inter-religious dialogue among persons of diverse religious traditions to share ideas, experiences and to undertake common action for communal amity. “Cardinal Dias gave a fresh impetus to inter-religious dialogue to bring about not only religious harmony but a deep appreciation of the other faiths,” Dr. Kala Acharya, director of K.J. Somaiya Bharatiya Sanskrit Peetham, told SAR News. “The popular prelate who sang on his guitar is a man of spiritual vision, with a razor-sharp intellect and insight to discern the fallacy and fleeting nature of problems. He is a staunch defender of human rights and freedom of religious freedom,” Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandes, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, top body of 210 Indian bishops, said. “He is one of India’s distinguished and prominent Catholic prelates, who challenged the political leadership to respect the lives of the unborn, the infirm and the unwanted,” Father Anthony Charanghat, editor of 157-year-old The Examiner weekly, said. “In the stormy seas of moral and ethical turmoil, Cardinal Dias was fearless to be in the forefront against issues like abortion, euthanasia, contraception, illicit relationships and unethical scientific human engineering,” he added. Since 1961, when the young priest Dias, born in Mumbai, was sent to Rome to study at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy for Vatican Diplomats, it has been a steady rise for him in the Vatican’s inner circle during the last three decades in various capacities, including as a high-profile ambassador to various European, African and Asian countries during the reign of the charismatic and globetrotting Polish Pope John Paul II. Known for his orthodoxy and a staunch advocate of the traditional doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Dias is very close to Pope Benedict XVI and the inner coterie of the Vatican. _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org
