Sebastian Borges wrote: "Dear Augusto, I was astonished at your indignation especially considering that you had recently defended very vehemently Fr. Victor Ferrao's paper..."
Dear Sebastian I don't see why you should find it surprising that I should be interested in Fr Victor Ferrao's opinions. They are significant as they reflect an important strand of current Church thinking given his position as Dean of Rachol Seminary. However just because I have edited their writing it doesn't mean that I neccesarily endorse everything that Fr Victor or Adv. Fernandes says. And so if I agree with his views about the evolution of Hinduism, I do not quite agree with what he says about the Gawdas and their Maan. I repeat what I said elsewhere that I believe that Adv Joao is at least partly motivated by the fact that Christian Gawda pride can get its best support from the Govt. and not from the Church through the instrument of Reservations for Scheduled Tribes - a reservation which cuts across religious grounds. I also believe that the Church has not sufficiently publicized the Govt. schemes so that the Gawdas can avail of these. I understand that this is sheer cussedness on their part. However I also concur with what Adv. Joao says regarding the systematic way in which the Church has discriminated against the Gawdas. This is a shame against the Catholic community. While this has happened in the past what I am indignant about now is the 'spiral of silence' that has greeted the publication of Adv John's essay. It seems that instead of addressing the injustices that Gawdas face socially economically and politically, their voice when not deliberately suppressed, is simply ignored by not just the Church clergy but also the more affluent of its members As regards Fr Victor's fondness of a 'Theory-fied' style of writing I entirly sympathise with you. Theory often tends to be "like a tale / Told by and idiot, full of sound and fury/ Signeifying Nothing However it can be terribly intimidating for the reader. Finally thanks for all the information about Ambelim and the Gawdas. Regards Augusto -- Augusto Pinto 40, Novo Portugal Moira, Bardez Goa, India E pinto...@gmail.com P 0832-2470336 M 9881126350
