On 23 Aug 2013 "J. Colaco < jc>" <cola...@gmail.com> wrote:
1. I absolutely deplore the mention and use of The Hindu Caste System wrt Christianity, be it for subjugation OR for the purpose of gaining special privileges by way of Reservations. 2. do you have documentary proof? Comments: 1. This is nothing short of wishful thinking. Just because I deplore the name of a thing, will it disappear just into thin air? The caste system has been and is existing in the Catholic Church in Goa, and <jc> knows it! Since he mentions Christianity, let him be advised that in the State of Tamil Nadu, there exist separate churches and cemeteries for the "dalits"! Moreover, (a) the fifth Council of Goa (1606) had decreed that no low caste Indian was to be admitted to the priesthood, (b) by a special dispensation (issued in 1623), Pope Gregory XV allowed the Brahmin converts to wear the sacred thread and other caste markings, and [hold your breath] (c) in his article "The Caste System of India"Jose Colaco himself wrote "A curious oxymoron is the presence and practice of the caste system among the Roman Catholics of Goa and Mangalore. For centuries after conversion to Catholicism, caste discrimination was practiced even within the precincts of the Church! This is slowly dissipating."Unfortunately for him, the Past Tense ["was"] is a lie and the supposed dissipation is not happening even in his own native village of Velim, the chief resistance coming from his own clan that traces its ancestry to Carambolim. 2. This is a very convenient argument for a defence lawyer having a criminal bent of mind; with this ploy, any culprit could go scot free. Consider the following instances: (a) a pickpocket flicks your wallet and, when caught with it, demands documentary proof that the wallet is yours. (b) some years ago, I have seen one of the priests exorcising a Cross in the front yard of a neighbour by striking it repeatedly with a rope accompanied by some "prayers", barely 50 metres away from the place I was sitting in my own house. (c) I claim that the so-called "martyrs of Cuncolim"had earlier desecrated the Shatadurga temple there. What sort of documentary proof would be valid in each of these cases? Sebastian Borges
