19 March 2015

2 9 March 20152 9 March 2015

Ahmedabad: Ahmedabad BishopMost Rev Thomas Ignatius Macwaninaugurated a two-day Western re-gional convention organised by theIndian Catholic Press Association incollaboration with the Gujarat Chris-tian Press Council at AhmedabadDiocesan Pastoral Center in Nadiad,48 k.m. away from here.

Among those who addressedthe convention are ICPA PresidentFr Alfono Elengikal, GCPC presi-dent Fr Anton Macwan, GCPC vice-president, Dr KP Rajbharti, seniorjournalists Ignatius Dabhi, FrVarghese Paul, Shaliesh Chrestieand Ashok Parmar.

About 40 journalists fromGujarat and Maharashtra repre-senting ICPA and GCPC attendedthe convention.

Various issues and topicsconcerning the community andthe nation are discussed in the twoday session. Journalists and writ-ers present have expressed theiropinion. It was an excellent oppor-tunity to meet and interact withjournalists of two statesMaharashtra and Gujarat.

This is for the first time thatICPA organised a convention ofthis kind in Gujarat.—Jose Vincent K.J., Secretary, IPCA

Western Region Journalists Meet At Nadiad

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39 March 2015

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‘Thought for the week’Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwantedaccording to the graces we have received and let us not beashamed or slow to do the humble work. —Mother Teresa

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Missionaries Of Charity OrderAnswers

Kolkata – A day after RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said that conversion toChristianity was the main objective behind Mother Teresa’s service to the poor,the Missionaries of Charity said that over 90 percent of those its 745 homesacross the world and 19 in Kolkata cater to are non-Christians.

“There were 745 Mother Teresa homes across the world and 19 in Kolkata.Over 90 percent of all those who are treated at these homes are non-Christians,”spokesperson Sunita Kumar said, reported The Indianexpress.

Claiming that Bhagwat was misinformed, she added: “Among the Kolkatahomes, Nirmal Hriday in Kalighat, Prem Dan near Park Circus railway stationand Shanti Daan in Tangra are the prominent ones. When children areabandoned at hospitals and come to these homes, they are told about the faiththey belong to. Only if abandoned children are found on the streets and theirreligion cannot be determined, they are raised as Christians.”

“Mother Teresa was beyond any religion and even till today, people fromall religions come to Mother House to seek blessings… I don’t know what madehim (Bhagwat) say this,” she said.

The Archbishop of Kolkata, Thomas D’Souza, said he was in talks withseveral organisations so that a protest rally can be held soon against Bhagwat’sremarks.

“We cannot let anyone malign Mother Teresa’s image and get away withit. We will come up with a programme in a day or two,” he said.

React ing to Bhagwat’s remarks, he said: “The eye which has jaundicesees a yellow world. I am not surprised because it is the agenda of people likeBhagwat to spread hatred. I am sad as someone who has worked with MotherTeresa. The allegation is totally baseless. Had it been the case, all children,elderly, ailing and physically and mentally challenged people who Motherserved, would have become Christians. That should be proof enough.”

“After they targeted churches in Delhi they have targeted Mother Teresawith a definite motive. He has the audacity to say this about the person who isrevered across the world. We strongly condemn it. It is not only an insult toMother Teresa but to all who looked up to her,” he added.

When contacted, Sister Deena at Mother House said that Sister Prema —Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity — has instructed them not toreact to Bhagwat’s comments.

Contentspg. 3 - Missionaries of Charity

Order Answerspg. 4 - Bhagwat's Derogatory

Statementpg. 5 - The Futility of Being No.1pg. 6 - Religious Conversionpg. 7 - Reader's Viewspg. 8 - Swach Bharat: Clean ...pg. 9 - Mohan Bhagwat Ques-

tions...pg 10 - Chpg 11 - The Indian Railways ...pg. 14 - Story of The Real-life

Rapunzel Girlpg 16 - "Is God With Us?"pg 17 - The Easter Trianglepg 18 - Controversy about Mother

Teresapg 13 - Inspiration!pg 20 - Matrimonialspg 22 - Why, to many Critics ...pg 23 - Finance For New Investor

4 9 March 2015

cannot understand selfless service.They look for an ulterior motive or vestedinterest in everything. Yes, MotherTeresa was motivated, or rather in-spired by the Lord Jesus. Jesus hademphatically stated that the ultimateproof of righteousness lay not in longprayers or religious rituals, but ratheras he said “Whatsoever you do to theleast of my brethren you do unto me”.That is why Mother Teresa unabash-edly and often stated that she saw the

periences. Oncea young manstrayed into myformer house onthe Mall Road. Hewas nude, withfestering sores.People wanted tochase the “madman” away. I heard the sound andreached out to him, giving him first aidand cleaning his wounds. Later MotherTeresa’s sisters from Snehalaya,Chandari, came and picked him up.After being restored to health he wasreturned to his family in Unnao. Hisname was Anand, obviously a Hindu.

Similarly I had found a young manlying on the GT Road, nude, covered inblood and dust. I put him in my car andtook him to Snehalaya. He too recov-ered and was returned to his family inFazilka on the Pakistan border. Farfrom “converting” the destitute, the sis-ters actually try to locate the families ofsuch persons, and reunite them. AtSnehalaya, if a destitute dies he or shehas her last rites performed accordingto the individual’s religious persuasion.For Muslims the mosque in nearbySujatganj is contacted.

I wonder if Bhagwat and his ilkhave ever ministered with their ownhands to those who have been totallyabandoned by society, often in inhu-man conditions? Bhagwat should learnto practice what he preaches. MotherTeresa never preached, she just prac-ticed what she sincerely believed. Isalute her memory and invite all per-sons of goodwill, regardless of reli-gion, to emulate her selfless service.

—Chhotebhai NoronhaPresident

Kanpur Catholic Association

Mohan Bhagwat, head honchoof the RSS, has termedMother Teresa’s services as

motivated by her desire to convert thebeneficiaries to Christianity, thereby di-luting their value. This statement is notjust derogatory; it is in fact defamatoryand deliberately provocative. The RSSis not known to make random state-ments. While accusing Mother Teresaof a “hidden agenda” Bhagwat actuallyfinds three fingers pointed at himself.

I have been closely associatedwith Mother Teresa and her organiza-tion, the “Missionaries of Charity” from1967, and personally interacted withher on several occasions. I quite liter-ally found God in her – in the light in hereyes and the intensity of her quietprayers. Mother Teresa lived a rela-tively comfortable life in the LoretoConvent, Calcutta (as it was then called),to move out on the streets of the city tocare for its destitute. Her shelter, NirmalHriday, is located at Kolkata’s famousKali Ghat. I am not aware of the RSSdoing a similar service at that place,sacred to the Hindus; nor at Varanasi,Mathura, Haridwar etc.

A story about Mother would bestnegate Bhagwat’s obnoxious state-ment. Apparently Mother was onceattending to a destitute whose fleshwas putrid and the smell nauseous. Anobserver said that he would not do thatif he were offered a million rupees; towhich the Mother had famously re-plied, “For money, nor would I; but forthe love of Jesus, yes”. Selfish people

Bhagwat’s Derogatory Statement

Mother Teresa'sNishkama Karma

Those who accuse MotherTeresa of using her serviceto the poor to make conver-

sions to Christianity, will find, ifthey acquaint themselves with allthose she lived and worked with,that she was truly an embodimentof the ‘nishkama karma’ (selflessservice, expecting nothing in re-turn), which the Bhagavad Gita soeloquently preaches. The only con-versions she really made, were tothis noble ideal of ‘nishkamakarma’ to the poorest of the pooramong her hundreds of followersand millions of admirers world-wide. Isn’t this something all of usought to strive to imitate, espe-cially those who revere the Gita?

—Joseph M. Dias,S.J.,Andheri (E).

BY CHHOTEBHAI

face of Jesus in the poor to whom sheministered. She worked for leprosypatients at a time when the disease wasstill highly infectious. She started hos-pices for AIDS patients when nobodydared touch them. I wonder why theRSS didn’t undertake such tasks, in-stead of pointing fingers at MotherTeresa?

Let me give you two personal ex-

59 March 2015

by Francis Lobo

My 80 years of existence andhard experience has givenme the authority to criticize

the policies and decisions of those inpower. I am forced to speak outagainst the current developments. Thefirst is the renewed emphasis onnuclear energy. When the rest of theworld is moving away to alternateforms of energy, whom are we tryingto please by taking this route? Shaleas an alternative to oil was known 50years ago. But USA, after the first oilshock didn’t take this route as theythought nuclear energy was a cheaperand cleaner option. After the nucleartragedies around the world, shale hasgot its rightful place in the energyspectrum bringing oil prices down in2015 to half of what it was.

Why can’t India concentrate onalternate energy like solar and bio-mass? When I started my career as anengineer we worked on the conceptof using bagasse, the waste left aftersugar is extracted from the cane, asthe energy source for the sugar mills.The waste became as valuable as thejuice. Bio-mass, if effectively man-aged, can boost the agriculturaleconomy while meeting our energyneeds.

The second thrust that doesn’tmatch with my experience is this ideaof being No 1 in Defense Production.Rajiv Gandhi too had the idea of mak-ing India the dominant power in SouthEast Asia. He couldn’t even get theLTTE to behave and lost his life in theprocess. The Nazis had a similar vi-sion of capturing land and resourcesfrom the neighboring countries to givethe German people a better life. The

ambition brought destruction not onlyto the German people but to the entireworld. Being No 1 is a tenet of theCelebrity Culture, where the winnertakes all. Crores are paid to a celebrityfor an appearance or performancebecause she attracts the crowds anddraws in hefty profits. This cultureresults in 1 % of the world populationowning 50 % of the world’s wealth.The words “Imperial”, “Military”“Army” have since been replaced bythe term “Defense” as today no coun-try wants to be seen as an aggressor,a conqueror with imperialist tenden-cies out to subjugate others.

We don’t want to be the No 1Importer of Defense Equipment. Wedon’t have to be. Our defense expen-diture is because we do not havegood relations with our neighbors. Aprogressive foreign policy should beaimed at Banning War and divertingthe defense expenditure to develop-ment in the region. After WWII Japanconsciously took the route of peaceand has prospered immensely.

The P.M. boasts that the newthrust on “Make in India” for defensewill create over a lakh of high techjobs. Indians will no longer need to goabroad for high paying and satisfyingwork. Shouldn’t the high-tech talentavailable be used to meet the needsof this country like energy, food, medi-cal care, housing, poverty, nutrition?No doubt investment in Defense Re-search ultimately trickles down andhelps society like the Internet, whichwas initially set up for defense appli-cations. But we can cut the cycleshort by investing directly in civilprojects. It is six months since thelaunch of the Keep India Clean Cam-paign was launched on Independence

Day. We have nothing on the groundto show for it. High soundingrhetoricand sound bites must be replaced byapplication of science and technol-ogy. High-tech is required for wasterecycling, water conservation, stor-age and recovery, sewage treatmentand sanitation, generating wealth fromwaste, reducing wastage in packag-ing.

Being a Super Power in Defensebringswith it the temptation to use thispower which would be dangerousand suicidal. We don’t have to com-pete with China. We have the chal-lenging task to give a better life to 1.25billion citizens of this country. There isno virtue in aiming to be No. 1.

The Futility Of Being No 1

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1. Mr. Bhagwat – you said Mer.Teresa was engaged inconversion. Evidence, please.In the court of public opinion/law, proof is paramount.

2. Mer. Teresa needs no certifi-cation from anyone – least ofall from you / the RSS.

3. If Christian educational/medical / relief / charitableservices are a cover for con-version, how come we are stilljust a measly 2.3% of theIndian population ,after somany centres and so manycenturies ?

4. And if your allegation is true,why is there such a RUSH foradmission to our Institutions??

5. You should know that conver-sion is not possible-especiallynot by force ( horse andwater) Besides, how to ensurethe neophytes stay converted? It takes 1-2 years before thechurch confers Baptism intothe fold. Conversion is amatter of faith, not of compul-sion.

6. If you are concerned aboutyour straying flock, tend totheir needs instead of target-ing alleged ‘sheep stealers‘.

7. Two members of my familyhave inter-married. Theyprofess their own faith, cel-ebrate each other‘s festivals,visit each other‘s houses ofworship. Solid marriages.

8. The Church in India com-memorates January 30, and

Gandhiji‘s message of unity indiversity, by holding Inter-Faith meets. Conversion ?

9. If you are ever in Bandra, dovisit Shanti Avedna ,ourhospice for ALL the terminallyill. It has a prayer room withsymbols of different Faiths !

10. Mr. Bhagwat, – your remarksdo a disservice to a greatReligion ( Hinduism ) to ourgreat secular democraticNation, besides underminingthe Indian government‘sdevelopment agenda. Do notseek to divide and rule –ratherlet us ALL INDIANS , uniteand prosper . Christ said :Father, forgive them for they

know not what they do “.Today, we forgive you andyour ilk even though YOUKNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOUARE DOING !

And my fellow Christians,expect much more of this inthe days /years to come. Welive in an intolerant ,violentworld. See how the ISIS istorturing / slaughtering theinnocents. Jesus never prom-ised us a rose garden. IndeedHe said that if we wish to beHis disciple, we should takeup our cross and follow him.He led by example and what‘smore thought it well worthwhile to do so. Are we up tothe challenge ?

—Bernie Tellis

Religious Conversion

THANKSGIVING

St Jude, Holy Spirit, St. Joseph, Sacred Heart of Jesus, St.Antony, Divine Mercy, Our Lady of Perpetual Succor, OurLady of Valenkani.

Thanks for special favours granted.— E.M. (Isaacs)

Vasai West

79 March 2015

SecularismEroded

The recent conversion chargeslevelled against Mother Teresa by RSSsupremo Mohan Bhagwat, besidesshaming the nation, has sent a strongsignal to the people of the country thatanyone undertaking social work for theupliftment of the destitute, the down-trodden and the marginalised of soci-ety will necessary have to be devoid ofany religious affiliation, for his/her workto be appreciated and free of conver-sion charges. It is sad that a politicaltwist has been given to denigrate aNobel peace prize winner and the re-cipient of the Nations highest honourthe ‘Bharat Ratna’, whose work for thepoor has become the yardstick bywhich millions measure compassionand generosity across religious andpolitical divides. It is sad that our secu-lar Constitution of equal respect for allreligions is also being slowly but surelyeroded and changed to a new brand ofatheistic secularism which is practisedin some western countries. Can wenow boast of being and inclusive soci-ety and a multi-religious nation with aglorious past civilization of religioustolerance and unity in diversity which isthe hallmark of our national culture andnational integration?

—A. F. Nazareth,Alto Porvorim.

Parish Priestsshould harness

collective support -

It was encouraging to read Fr. AnilRego’s ‘Open Letter’ (SC/16 February,2015), on page 6.

Today, even a Face Book ‘Like’can attract ‘Open’ prominence.

The letter was published alongwith Dr. Leo Rebello’s article ‘I am noNAMO fan’ on Page 16 in the sameissue.

As Dr. Leo Rebello resides in thesame area, it would not be illogical forFr. Anil Rego, Parish Priest, Kandivli, tomobilize parochial support in tandemwith Dr. Leo Rebello on civic & politicalissues.

—Denis Khan

Railway Budget2015

The Railway Budget 2015 , pre-sented today by the Hon'ble MinisterMr. Subhash Prabhu, has given, socalled cosmetic presentation, as morethrust is given to the Railway traveler'scomfort with an attention on cleanli-ness & modern toilet facilities, withouta hike in railway ticket/passenger fare.

The railway Minister, is hoodwink-ing the railway traveler's by saying nopassenger fare has increased. In thelast budget,the booking could be done2 month's in advance & now it will be 4month's in advance. That means, the

Semi-furnished spacious apartment forsale, precisely two minutes walk fromSacred Heart Church, Andheri East.Clean, Secure & Peaceful locality withregular BMC water. Also available soci-ety allotted parking. We have been thefirst occupants of the Flat since the last7 years. Area almost 960 sq.ft. superbuilt-up.

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passenger has to block money for 4months to traveled to any destination inadvance. This 2 month's period therailway is going to fetch interest at thecost of railway passengers.

Secondly,If a family wants to gofor a tour, then they have to pay 4month in advance to the hotelier's andfor transport.The Transport owner's willnot \ give the rate because of the petrol& diesel prices are not constant all thetime, The restaurant owner's will notgive the rate because the oil, cereal &vegetable prices are not steady.

Thirdly, the students do not knowwhen their Exams will get over andwhen their holiday's will start.

Fourthly, the working parents donot know whether they will get leave ornot because no employer what willhappened in 4 month's period.

As there is heavy rush for JammuTawi, as people are going to Kashmirand most of the Hindus going toVaishnodevi & Amarnath Yathra for pil-grimage. There is a haevy rush for thetrain. It is sad the Hinduta so calledparty BJP didn't think about startingsuper fast train to the place. But theywant to start super speed train fromMumbai to Ahmadabad with is ridicu-lous & waste of money. Even there areno Super Fast train running fromMumbai to Thiruvanantapuram (Trivandram). Nor do they have localtrains, with the result the local workersenter into reserved compartments &create problem to the genuine ticketholders

—Herbert D. Barretto,Wadala

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8 9 March 2015

by Alexander Ekka,S.J.,St.Xavier’s School, Baramkela,

Raigarh, Chhattisgarh

Credit goes to Prime MinisterModi who has initiated innovative scheme of Swach Bharat

all over India. Congratulations! Mediahas covered extensively the photo-graphs of many politicians with broomsand spades cleaning up the roads andthe drainages etc in many importantcities. BJP rule Chhattisgarh the politi-cal parties and the government ma-chinery looks serious about the clean-ing movement. Many government es-tablishments like hospitals, railway de-partment Mantralaya, Collect orate,educational departments, public sec-tors etc.look neat and clean.

Social evil is one of the biggest cancersin India which has eaten up the Indiansociety. In one of the international sur-veys India ranks 85 positions in corrup-tion. An honest citizen of India will agreethat corruption exists like a cancerousdisease in all the government and nongovernment departments of India. Thisis against the spiritual ethos of thesacred Indian culture.

There are different kinds of corruptionexisting in India. I would like to focus onone type of corruption which is in-grained in all the Indian departments.That is bribery. Bribery is one of themost ignominious social evils that havecrept in to the social fabric of the mostsacred Indian society. All Indian areundergoing suffocations and unpleas-ant experiences of bribery at differentlevels in all walks of life. I would like tocite a few instances of bribery in myown life. It was a frustrating experiencewhile I was handling a land case in thecourt for which I forwarded all the docu-ments required. Every time I was sum-moned, persons from top to bottomdemanded money to pass on the file

from one table to another. I did submita good sum of money to move my filesto other tables of the officials since Ineeded to finish off the case within agiven time frame.Meantime I got trans-ferred. The court case is settled afterlong years of harrowing experience. Another case was in amost prestigious government hospitalwhere I took a very serious patient for acheckup. I had to stand in a queueearly morning at around 6.00 a.m. be-hind more than one hundred peoplestanding in front of me to get an OPDcard. My snacks and lunch hours werespent in the line waiting for my turn tocome. By the time I reached almostclose to the window the counter wasclosed in the evening. I had to sleep onthe floor in front of the counter in theline for the next day. My patient mean-time was fighting for life and death inthe lodge. Next day morning around11.00 a.m. I managed to get the OPDcard. Ordeal did not stop here. Whenvisited, doctor advised to undergo 15kinds of checkups. For each check up,the patient had to bribe good sum to allthe intermediaries in the cabins. Checkup was over but the doctor prescribeda list of medicine which I had to pur-chase only in his medical shop another30 Km from the hospital. It took me 4 days to travel and4 days of stay for medical checkup.The doctor advised the patient to visithim again after a month. Frustratingindeed. The patient died after onemonth. Another instance is of educa-tion department where I applied forrecognition of our school. Recognitionof the school was granted but after agood sum of money invested for theintermediaries from lower level table tothe upper tables in the office.These were some of the unpleasantcommon experiences which the ordi-nary citizens of our country are under-going. This disgusting phenomenon isvery embarrassing and painful to all of

us. The government machinery is awareof such malpractices in all the depart-ments without any exception all overIndia. Such practices exist because themind of the people is vitiated. No holyscripture of our religions which we Indi-ans vow to practice approves suchmalicious practices. The minds of thepeople are contaminated due to socialmilieu which has to be eradicated.Corrupt mind will bring out corruptresults. We cannot expect good resultsfrom the rotten mind set up. This kind ofrotten mind will never be helpful in anycase in the sustainable development ofour country.

We need to redefine the movement ofSwach Bharat.We need Swach Indianswith swach Indian mind more thanSwach Bharat. For this all the citizensof India will have to play a big role totake a bold step. We need to clean upthe corrupt Indian minds before weneed to clean demographic infrastruc-ture of Indian establishments. Definitelywe can make in India. I humbly requestthe intelligentia, the beaureaucrats andthe political leaders of the country tomake a blue print at the national level toinculcate a culture of honesty, truthful-ness, patriotism, secularism, spiritual,moral and ethical values in to theminds of our coming young genera-tion.

Swach Bharat: Clean Indiaversus

Swach Bhartiya: Clean Indian

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99 March 2015

Mohan Bhagwat, the chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh(RSS), is back to making news again, and yes, for anotherwrong reason! On Monday, while addressing a gathering at a

village near Bharatpur, Bhagwat said, “Mother Teresa’s service wouldhave been good. But it used to have one objective, to convert the person,who was being served, into a Christian.” As expected, this commentfrom the RSS chief stoked another round of controversy, sparking outdebates on the issue of conversions and “ghar-wapsi.”

This is definitely not the first time that Mohan Bhagwat has come up witha controversial statement at a public gathering. It hasn’t been long sincehis last contentious statement which revolved around the issue of rapesin the country. According to him, rapes were prevalent mostly in theurban areas of the nation and not the rural ones. Rapes, Bhagwat said,were the consequence of western influence and happened only in Indiaand not “Bharat.”

It is, rather, ironical for the RSS chief to make a statement against MotherTeresa and analyzing her charity work. If he calls her philanthropy afaçade that concealed her motive to convert people to Christianity, whatwould he call the RSS and VHP agenda of “ghar-wapsi” or reconversionof people into Hinduism?

Bhagwat has been, fervently, advocating for Hindutva. As per him, theremedy to all ills lies nowhere else but Hindutva. Always against the Westhe had once said, “Whenever we have parted ways from our culture andgot disunited, we have been enslaved. It took us time to re-unite to throwaway British yoke.” This time around, he compared the NGO (thatorganized the meeting) to Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity,saying that, “The question is not about conversion but if this (conver-sion) is done in the name of service, then that service gets devalued.”He eulogized the NGO, adding, “But here (at the NGO), the objective ispurely service of poor and helpless people.”

It is, but obvious, that such a statement would attract much rebuke fromall around! Right on cue, everybody began pouring their disappoint-ment at Bhagwat’s comments. “She left her country and spent her lifeto provide service to the poor. It is really a very unfortunate statement,”Ashok Gehlot, former Chief Minister said, referring to Mother Teresa.Arvind Kejriwal urged the RSS chief to spare her in a tweet this morning,saying, “I worked with Mother Teresa for a few months at Nirmal Hridayashram in Kolkata. She was a noble soul. Please spare her.”

“Mother Teresa’s only motive was to serve the poor. Through all myyears with her, I have not experienced or seen any kind of conversion.I am a Sikh,” said Ms. Kumar, who started working with Mother Teresain 1965.

—Sangeeta Purkayastha

Mohan Bhagwat QuestionsMother Teresa’s Altruism

Salute to SCChristians

Recent Supreme court verdict ‘Christians who reconvert as Hindu schedule caste will get quota benefits’ has

only ratified the existing constitutional lawwithout saying anything new. A week ago,this was highlighted in the news with ‘Gharvapasi’ as the background. Indian Chris-tians comprise of a large % of SC Christianswho are very much aware of the discrimina-tion made on the basis of Religion in viola-tion of Article 15 (1).

They are aware of the fact that if recon-verted to their original religion, i.e. the reli-gion to which his/her parents or earliergeneration belonged to, this will avail themall the constitutional benefits. Today, thereare thousands of SC Christians who haveremained faithful to their Christian faith de-spite their low social, educational and eco-nomical background and have refused tofall prey to this enticement. I salute them!SC Catholics in the Archdiocese of Bombaymay roughly consists 20 to 30 % or more ofthe total catholic population and they aremainly from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Nagar ?.There are no local SC Catholics in theArchdiocese.

Around the nation these faithful facethree types of discrimination firstly, from thecommunity they are converted; secondly,from their religious community they areconverted from and lastly but most impor-tantly from the Government.

In Mumbai the Church has a vital roleto play to make these SC community mem-bers feel not discriminated. There can be apossibility of these people shunned outwhen it comes to participation in the liturgy,cultural programmes, parish representa-tion at the parish council. As Christians weshould keep in mind that all of us are con-verted and so it is not they and we, but USthat will give the strength to grow, bringingmeaning to our Christian unity.

— Fr. Calistus FernandesOur Lady of Fatima Church

Karjat (Next to Karjat Rly Station)Raigad District

Maharasthra India

10 9 March 2015

Chennai: Jesuit Father Alexis Prem Kumar, who was inTaliban custody for nearly nine months, arrived in theChennai airport Wednesday evening to an emotionalreunion with friends and relatives.

The 47-year-old priest thanked the Tamil Nadugovernment and the people in his native state of TamilNadu for their efforts to secure his release from captivityin Afghanistan, reports The Times of India.

Fr Kumar, who was kidnapped on June 2, 2014,was released on February 22. He was staying in theAshoka Hotel, Delhi, as a government guest for the pastthree days.

At the Chennai airport relatives rushed to him andhugged him after breaking the police cordon.

“I thank the Tamil Nadu government and the peoplein the state for their prayers and efforts to secure myrelease,” the priest told the waiting media, adding, “I willmeet you at Loyola College at 11:30am tomorrow andanswer your questions.”

He arrived in Chennai from Mumbai, where hebriefed Jesuit provincials from South Asia who werehaving their annual meeting. He had left for Mumbai fromDelhi Wednesday morning.

Fr Kumar, hailing from Devakottai in Sivagangadistrict, was working with Jesuit Refugee Service in theHerat province of Afghanistan when he was abducted bythe alleged Taliban militants.

The priest’s release was secured after it was pur-sued at the highest level by India, the external affairsministry has said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday called upFr Kumar’s family to inform his release. Later, he tweeted:“Delighted at securing the release of Indian Jesuit priestFather Kumar from captivity in Afghanistan.”

Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaahad sought the prime minister’s intervention for thepriest’s safe release, and Modi had assured her that theCentre would spare no effort to get Fr Kumar releasedfrom captivity.

God'sPriceless Treasure

The Bible, God's Word is full of comfort and guidance. Itis God's love letter to us. In Isaiah 43: Vr 4, God says"You are precious to me and I love you." Further in

verses 18-19, God comforts us by saying, "Do not dwell on thepast events, or remember the things of old. Look I am doinga new thing."

Even though we may not have chosen our Lord, He is theone who first loved us. In John 15:16, Jesus says, "You did notchoose me; it was I who chose you and sent you to go and bearmuch fruit, fruit that will last." Not only has The Lord chosenus, He has a plan and a purpose for each of our lives. InJeremiah 29:11-14, The Lord says "For I know what plans Ihave for you, plans for peace and not for disaster, plans to giveyou hope and a future. When you call upon me and come andpray to me, I will listen to you. When you seek me, you will findme; and when you search for me with all your heart I will let youfind me."

The Bible is full of God's promises telling us that Heknows exactly what we are going through and that He isalways there for us. In Isaiah 43: 1-3, He says "Fear not, for Ihave redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when youpass through the rivers they will not sweep you away. Whenyou walk through fire, you will not be burned, nor will theflames consume you. For I am The Lord, your God, the HolyOne of Israel, your Saviour." Isn't it wonderful that our awe-some God knows each of us by name and calls us by ournames? In Isaiah 49: 15-16, He says, "Can a woman forget thebaby at her breast and have no compassion on the child of herwomb? Even if these were to forget, I will not forget you. SeeI have written your name upon the palms of my hands."Psalm139 says, wherever we go, God is there. Vr 7-10 is asfollows, "Where else could I go from your Spirit? Where couldI flee from your presence? You are there if I ascend theheavens; you are there if I descend to the Underworld. If I rideon the wings of the dawn and settle on the far side of the sea,even there your hand shall guide me and your right hand shallhold me safely."

Our great God cares for us so much that in Mt 10:30 Hesays," But even the hairs of your head are all numbered." Godcares for every detail of our lives. In Psalm 56:8, the Psalmistsays, " You have a record of my laments; my tears are storedin your flask. Are they not written in your record?"

In John 10:10 The Lord says, " I have come that you mayhave life and have it In abundance."

My friends we can all have this abundant life if wemeditate on God's word everyday. If we soak ourselves in theword of God we will bear fruit that will last. So let's read theBible in our family gatherings and speak it to our children andour children's children. Let the word of God reign supreme inour hearts !

—Sunita Valladares

Freed Jesuit arrivesin Tamil Nadu

119 March 2015 119 March 2015

T he RailwayMinister’s [RM]speech on the

Railway Budget wasmore like a ManagementLaundry List of what is tobe done, an integratedplan of action, rather thanhow the operations areto be improved andchanged. That he got20,000 suggestions forwhat is to be done is nota surprise consideringthe age, extensive network, diversityand complexity involved. The thrust inthis budget should have been on howto improve the Operating Ratio to evenbelow 0.8 so that money is availablefor depreciation, new investment anddebt servicing.

One big threat which was not ad-dressed was the impact of the next7th

Pay Commission. There were no ideason how to improve Employee Produc-tivity through Job Enlargement andJob Enrichment. When railway em-ployees were brought under the Bo-nus Act the pious wish was that bonuswould be linked to improvement inproductivity. Nothing has been done— Nothing whatsoever. There are alarge number of ways in which incen-tives and bonus can be linked to per-formance — reduce turnaround time,multi-tasking, reduce wagon loadingand unloading time, cleanliness, wast-age reduction, project completionahead of schedule, cost savings, re-duce maintenance and down time,safety record.

The way to speed up trains the R.M.said was by doubling, trebling,havingfour lanes. Why don’t we usethe IT skills to closely monitor railscheduling and movements? If singlerunways can handle aircraft taking offand landing every 30 seconds whycan’t innovations be attempted on the

railways like pulling slow and goodtrains into wayside stations so that fasttrains can zip through. Why can’t doubledecker coaches be introduced on alllocal trains like the double decker busesin the metros to reduce over-crowd-ing? It would be better than peopletravelling on the top of the coaches.

I have always advocated that rail move-ment is a more effective way of movingfreight than road transport. The roadtransport has a very powerful lobby inthe manufacturers of vehicles, the road

from Preventive Mainte-nance to Predictive Main-tenance. This should beconverted to targets for re-duction in breakdowns,lost and maintenance timeand costs. Technology isnow available for salvag-ing, rebuilding, recovery ofhigh cost spares whichcould save thousands ofcrores of rupees and addto employment opportuni-ties. Bringing down costs

by 5 % every year so as to reduce theimpact of inflation should be a normalgoal for any running organization.

With the talent available, an organiza-tion like the railway research organiza-tion, and our high tech educationalinstitutions we should aim for majorbreakthroughs. Fuel efficiencyis a ma-jor area for attention. There are opti-mum speeds which give the best effi-ciency, The wastages in idle runningcan be controlled by IT systems. En-gine design is still the key. Automobilemanufacturers are continuously work-ing to improve fuel efficiency. Fuelefficiencies have increased by severalorders of magnitude since the days ofHenry Ford. Similarly, the conversionof electricity to light and other formshas dramatically increased since thetime of Thomas Edison’s incandes-cent lamp.

Since the R.M. could generate 20,000suggestions during his interactionswith people around the country whydoes he not tap this power through aRailway Improvement SuggestionScheme where people are rewardedand recognized for ideas which arefeasible, implemented and result intangible benefits. A bottom up ap-proach involving the common manwould be a good beginning in IndianDemocracy.

The Indian Railways And The Common Man

by Francis Lobo

construction business, the truckers, etc.Through propaganda they have effec-tively painted a picture where we havecome to believe that the railways havegone to the dogs — crumbling railtracks, dirty coaches, rusty and un-painted bogies, filthy stations, lowsafety. Those who are regular travelerson the railways know these ae wildexaggerations yet they are commonlyaccepted. In fact most of the passen-ger amenities mentioned in the newbudget were already existing and thesehave only been enhanced. Internet con-nections and plug points for recharg-ing cell phones and other electronicdevices were in existence for manyyears.

A big cost of the railways is mainte-nance. The R.M. talked about moving

12 9 March 201512 9 March 2015

139 March 2015 139 March 2015

14 9 March 201514 9 March 2015

Story Of The Real-life Rapunzel Girl

A real-life Rapunzel girl whocut her hair for the first timehas given her family the

fairytale home they always dreamedof. Natasha Moraes de Andrade,12, wept as her 1.6m mane wassheared for the first time ever. Butnow she says it has given her a newlife.

Natasha, who lives in a shantytown in Rio de Janeiro, was previ-ously unable to do things enjoyedby other children such as going tothe beach.

It took four hours every weekto wash her hair and an hour and ahalf to brush every day, and madeher life a misery. Now she has hadit all hacked off into a simple bob of

just 40cm long, and washing her haironly takes five minutes. And whileNatasha previously slept in a tiny, win-dowless room, she got B$9,000 (about£3,000) from selling the hair for exten-sions which she has put towards a newhome for her family.

'I cried at first when I was at thehairdressers to get it cut,' she says.

'I was afraid I wouldn't like it, andI was also scared I might not get themoney I wanted for it.

'Getting it cut has given me a newlife. I used to be afraid every time I wentout that someone would grab my hairor try to cut it off, but now I can do a lotof things which I couldn't do before.

'Now I'm having cycling lessons,and I've got my freedom back. I muchprefer it. I want to learn English andSpanish, and I've been able to go tothe beach and swim without beingafraid of getting my hair wet.'

It was an emotional moment forthe rest of Natasha's family too.

Her mother Catarina said: 'I neverput her under pressure to get it cut, butshe was like a prisoner and wanted todo the things other girls her age do.

'It has given me back some free-dom as I used to spend so much timelooking after her hair.'

The family is now able to switchthe fan on in the house, somethingpreviously impossible as Natasha's

5ft2in hair would get caught in it.Natasha had never cut her hair

since she was a baby, and otherscomplimented her on her mane of thick,chestnut hair.

Now it is as long as it was whenshe was just four years old.

The family now plans to build anew house in the same shanty town,this time with a room for Natasha withwindows which will be fit for a princess.

She may have short hair now butNatasha's old fame as Rapunzel con-tinues at school where everyone stilluses the nickname.

'I thought it would stop when Ihad it cut, but people still stop me inthe street. If I had a daughter of myown, she would also be a princess, butshe would be Snow White, notRapunzel. That would be much morepractical,' she said

Thanksgiving

Thanks to Divine Mercy, OurLady of Vailankani, Our Lady ofperpectual Succor St. Anthonyand St. Francis Xavier.

—Mrs Blossom S, Noronha, Kuwait

159 March 2015

Wedding Invitation, Christening,First Holy Communion, Mortuary

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Dr. Sharon Pande

It was a brisk morning on 30th November, with a tint of winter, ourfamily gathered to celebrate the

40th year of our family picnic , yes , the40th year !

A brief recap down memory lane -It wasin 1974 when few of our uncles , (de-scendants of Custodio and Blandino ofQuitla , Aldona – Goa) decided tocommence the family reunion in orderto meet the cousins and their familiesonce a year . Initially it was a simpleaffair, but, as the years have flown by,the fun and grandeur at the picnicshave increased. The locations for thepicnic have been near and far either atMumbai, Lonavala or Goa.

The motto of the family isfellowship,caring and sharing. The an-nual picnic is a time to celebrate theyear long caring and sharing that hap-pens amongst the family members.Reaching out to the ones in need hasbeen an important ingredient of our

at Samara Gardens, Madh Islands tocelebrate 40 years of togetherness .Thecommittee members chalk out the dayvery carefully, so that the entire day ischoc a block with games, contests,spot prizes and loads of prizes too .Theday starts early in the morning with asumptuous breakfast and then pro-ceeds to divide the family into groupsfor various games and activities.

Every year the committee carefullyplans a dress code for the picnic andthis year being the Ruby celebrations, the dress code was ‘red’. Every familymember was requested to dress in redoutfits and also adorn themselves in acreative ‘red’ accessory . The bestdressed folks won prizes .The morningsession started with a couple of games,all games were creatively centeredaround the theme ‘Ruby, 40 years andRed’. It was then followed by Mass atthe Madh Church. After the Mass therewas a cake cutting ceremony – thecake again carefully designed had thefamily tree , this was immediately fol-lowed by a photograph session whereevery member was given red balloons.The noon session commenced with aRuby housie , followed by lunch andthen some brain teasers . The earlyevening session continued with games

for all age groups .

The later part of the evening proceededwith a Ruby talent show- where familymembers dressed as cartoon charac-ters, danced, sang and acted too .Thiswas immediately followed with a video‘ Down Memory Lane’ showcasing pho-tographs of the 40 picnics had over theyears and to mark the event mementoswere given to each family member.The day ended with a quiet dinner andbidding goodbye to all family mem-bers.

Health Benefitsof Wood Apple

Frequent intake of WoodApple cleanses the blood. Chil-dren should consume this fruitmore often, as it strengthens thebones and promotes physicalgrowth. It also gives them immu-nity and removes indigestion.Wood Apple is an effective tonicfor old people. This fruit whentaken for three consecutive dayshelps the bones to regain newstrength. It boosts the generationof the blood. It even helps inkeeping the heart beat steady inold people.

— Jubel D’Cruz

(As the Diocese focusesthis year on EUCHARIST &FAMILY, this write-up abouta yearly unique event of ourfamily is shared to spreadthe good news that thechristian family is the Joyof the Gospel even today)

Celebrating Family

Ruby Picnic of The Pereira Family

love and fellowship. Itis also an occasion towelcome new mem-bers into the familyand fondly rememberthose who have re-turned to the Lord. Itoffers an opportunityfor those overseas tomeet the family.

This year 80 plus fam-ily members gathered

16 9 March 2015

“IS GOD WITH US?”,…. Yes, thiswas the theme set for the 2014Zonal Christmas Crib contest inour Parish. A strange and ratherbland one I thought. Certainly one,which was going to tax the greycells of all the participants. Butthen, I underestimated vision of theorganizers and the creativity of ouryouth , each one excelling theother in thinking out of the box.

MH 370, EBOLA VIRUS, ISIS,MH17 UKRAINE CRISIS, all hotcurrent international topics inspiredand fired the imagination, provid-ing fodder for their bountifulresourcefulness.

St. Andrew’s Zone, tackled thesituation differently. Think global,act local was their motto. Sincefinance was a constraint, allrazzmatazz…. extravagant water-falls, large, lush green meadows,thunder and lightning streakingacross the backdrop of the blueskies, etc., was out of the question.Their mentor, a school teacherencouraged them to concentrateall their creativity on one keyfactor…. Simple, significant,meaningful messages touchingupon each and every one’s life.This could be the “X factor”separating the men from theboys!!!!!!! And they came out withgems. Some of them are:

* We are Human Beings, but ourinhuman nature is responsible indestroying plants, animals, wast-ing water and electricity, killinghuman life thro’ abortion……ISGOD WITH US?

* Cleanliness is next togodliness….we clean our homesand throw the garbage in oursurroundings….IS GOD WITHUS?

* We attend mass daily but thenengage in gossip about others,fight and envy the success of our

neighbors……IS GOD WITH US?

* We are a happy-go-lucky family,we live in our own world, give adeaf ear and a blind eye to whathappens in our community andparish. I, Me, Myself is what webelieve in….IS GOD WITH US?

* We are members of Churchorganisations, we serve peopleof our community and parish butwe neglect our duties and re-sponsibilities towards our ownfamilies……IS GOD WITH US?

* We as parents constantly encour-age and compel our children toexcel in the field of education,sports, dramatics, etc., but wefail to develop right faith forma-tion in them…IS GOD WITH US?

* We are teenagers and and spendmore time on mobiles, parties,friends, etc. there is no time forfamily, Church and prayer andwe have no concern, nocare…….IS GOD WITH US?

* We are teachers, proud with atti-tude, from a noble profession,we have no patience, no toler-ance, no understanding , we in-sult and humiliate parents andstudents…..IS GOD WITH US?

* We are lawyers, police, judgesbut say to hell with justice andpeace, we are just concernedwith our fees……IS GOD WITHUS?

* We are doctors who have chosenour profession for pleasure andtreasure, if our negligence coststhe life of some patients we havenothing to do……..IS GOD WITHUS?

* We are politicians and socialworkers seen around only whenit’s time to vote, the rest of thetime we count notes…….IS GODWITH US?

We are all created in God’s likenessand image but have drifted away dueto our greed, selfishness and sinfulways. Is God with us? The answermay seem “NO” but that’s not true.However weak, bad and frail weappear ,God ever forgiving ,alwaysinvites us to reconcile through thesacrament of penance.

It is clear that God is with us, now weneed to ponder and sincerely askourselves “AM I WITH GOD?”

Excellent, outstanding, brilliant wasmy analysis, but that could be myprejudiced eyes since it was ourzone. Needless to say St. Andrew’szone took away the top honours, thefirst prize in the contest.

—Brian Saldanha,Our Lady of Nazareth Church,

Bhayandar (W).

“ IS GOD WITH US ? ” —DEC 2014

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179 March 2015

Year after year, Easter brings us a providential opportunity to refresh and empower deeper values of our Christian

faith, and to discover each time the glory of theResurrection for an interior renewal in our per-sonal lives, and by the unbroken testimony ofChrist’s triumph over death, a dynamic link forevangelization. The Easter Message celebrates the RisenChrist and his love for all humankind. “We have beensaved” (Rom.8:24).

The divine confluence in coming together of the Resur-rection, the Transfiguration and the Ascension of JesusChrist is the Easter Triangle glorified within the forty daysof the Messiah’s stay on earth which stimulates a massiveboost to the faith.

The Holy Bible assures us: the Christian conviction isbased on credibility and embraces openness to all oth-ers. The Jews are known to have opinions. Often thoseopinions are wrong. In the Bible one can point to pas-sages of relevant and absolute truth. How true it is whenSt. Paul wrote, “The Word of God is living and active,sharper than any two-edged sword.”(Heb.4:12).

The triumph of Jesus Christ is in the ultimate miracle ofthe resurrection. He conquered death. The recorded factthat Christ died, was buried and rose on the third day issupreme proof of His divinity.

Because of this amazing event the resurrection of theMessiah seals the validation of His claims to divinity.Jesus was, is and always will be the Christ triumphant. Inthwarting disbelievers and their attempts to discredit theResurrection of Christ came a second incredible chal-lenge for them on knowing about the Ascension andTransfiguration of Jesus. He had indeed Risen andAscended into heaven.

The Gospel of John 20:17 gives us an account of Jesuswhen he stood before Mary after His Resurrection andtold her: “Go to my brethren and say to them, I amascending to my Father and your Father, to my God andyour God.”

The Gospel of Mark reveals the truth of the Ascensionlaconically :16:19. “So then the Lord Jesus, after he hadspoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat downat the right hand of God.”

The Gospel of Mathew 17:1-2 informs us, “After six days

The Easter TriangleJesus took with him Peter and James andJohn his brother, and led them up a highmountain apart. And he was transfigured be-fore them and his face shone like the sun, andhis garments became white as light. Thepeople hurried to every corner of the city andtold those who would listen about the Trans-

figuration and Ascension of Jesus.

The Son of man was truly “the Lord Jesus” God of all whobelieve in Him. The gospel of John 11:25 states, “ I am theresurrection and the life; he who believes in me, thoughhe die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believesin me shall never die. “

We find in the Acts of the Apostles 4:33, “And with greatpower the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrec-tion of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon themall.”

Jesus promises us no less when we give testimony to hisResurrection: telling all people of his divine triumph andglory.

BY MELVYN BROWN

18 9 March 2015

“You Are DestinedFor the Skies”

Sets an all-timeRecord!

You Are Des-tined For theSkies, thesecond bookof Fr AlfonsoElengikal, re-leased on Fri-day, 21st No-v e m b e r ,2014, has setan all-timerecord, effect-ing a sale of 25,000 copies in less thanfour months. The first set of 5,000copies that came out of the press inearly October were sold out even be-fore its formal release.

It was then the Ryan InternationalGroup of Institutions placed an orderfor 16,250 copies of the book, the larg-est-ever single order for any book re-ceived by BYB/ST PAULS, necessitat-ing in a second print of 20,000 copiesin mid-November. The “Ryan Interna-tional” has over 125 schools across thecountry and abroad, and the book wasgiven away as farewell gift to the Xth /XIIth std students, in the last week ofJanuary, with a personal note fromManaging Director Mrs Grace Pinto.

The entire second edition, too, wascompletely sold out, by last week. Asmore orders are coming in the BYB hasalready gone for another re-print of5,000 copies, expected to be out of thepress by early March.

Meantime, Fr Elengikal continues withhis popular monthly column in theChennai-based fortnightly The NewLeader titled “Called to the Heights”,he began three years ago.

Controversy about Mother Theresa

Mohan Bhagwat has accusedthe Mother Theresa, imputingmotives of conversion. Does

speaking about your religion amount toconversion? Passing oblique remarks,demeaning, belittling, maligning her hu-manitarian service against a worldadored, respected figure held in highesteem is in absolute poor taste. Unfor-tunately no one dares to question, con-tradict the ideological mentor, withoutdistancing themselves but on the con-trary supporting him in an exercise offire fighting. Not even P.M who daresRSS when recently he thundered thatviolence will not be tolerated and free-dom of religion and belief is enshrinedin the constitution is the fundamentalright. That it is intellectual debate andfreedom to speak their mind on highand mighty irrespective is poor logic.Mother served 70 years adopting Indiaas her country, She has also served inall countries irrespective of religiousbelief and is welcomed with open arms,Mother was showered with Nobel Peaceprize and India at large felt emotionallyattached about Indian being honouredand was not seen then as an outsider oragent of Jesus. India also honouredMother with BHARAT RATNA, highestcivilian award .Now accusing her as theagent of conversion, mis appropriationof funds, holding her strong views onabortion , contraception, are obnox-ious .Slanted charges and further ques-tioning the process of canonization isbeyond limits.

It is a political allegations rakingup unnecessary, irrelevant issues,stressing RSS ideology challenging ownP.M and secretly planning Hindutvaagenda. The prhase ?sub ka vikas sabke saat? has passed its expiry date,.Thereligious divide secular non secular,polarization, love jihad, re conversion,?Ghar Vapsi,? diverting attention is adeep rooted strategy at play .The Par-liament disallowed a debate on thismaligning remarks. The Vatican hasexpressed dissatisfaction on the erupt-ing controversy undermining her noblework. Various groups, speakers areemboldened to divide India on religiousgrounds, Even the President of USAwas forced to think aloud on this issue

and Art 25, much to the discomfort ofour leaders The recent incidents of burn-ing, vandalisng Churches in Delhi is apoint in consideration, creating alarmand sense of insecurity in minorities.

Mother stood by plurality, secular-ity and all have access to the same Godand will be saved according to theirfaith., Service and love to humanity,downtrodden , wretched transcends allfaith and belief and religion or embrac-ing her faith was not precondition. Iconvert you to be a better Muslim, HinduChristian to find God and worship Him.She believed in the dignity ,love andrespect of lepers, abandoned, sick ,dying and homeless. She cannot befaulted of living her own beliefs andservice of Jesus is a fallacy to be equatedwith conversions and it is illusive motiveto discredit her and her mission, anassault on fundamental rights of mi-norities.

Indians of all shades have greatadmiration for the wonderful work ofMisionaries of Charity. They supportvoluntarily the peace efforts in troubledtimes like riots of1946,Babri Masjiddemolition fall out in Calcutta. Catholicmissionaries have contributed im-mensely towards health, education,welfare etc and it is wrong to take myo-pic view at their efforts with tintedglasses The minorities do not resort toviolence but follow the doctrine topresent the other cheek and path ofdialogue ,forgiveness and reconcilia-tion

The population is decreased from6 to 2 % and hence the conversiontheory falls flat on statistics

Denigrating a world revered per-sonality of financial impropriety, rel-egating her work is the worst tribute wecan pay to her memory of selfless ser-vice, It is true thatthe drummers ofmajority of hurt sentiment are in isola-tion, as they consider themselves asself righteous votaries of preservingand repositories of Hindu faith andbelief. India today needs conversion ofmindset, because the existing laws cantake care of forced conversion withinducements

—Nelson LopesChinchinim

199 March 2015

InspirInspirInspirInspirInspiration!ation!ation!ation!ation!

Who is RichKnowing others is intelligence;Knowing yourself is true wisdom.Mastering others is strength;Mastering yourself is true power.If you realise that you have enough, you are truly rich.

Friendship is one of the bestthings that happen to us. A lifewithout friends is empty. Thereare many types of friends thatwe have in our lives. Here is alist.

Who's your best friend? It's atough question, if you'relucky. Because the truth is,

many people have multiple best friends.There's the best friend from when youwere little, the one you met in highschool, your college roommate, thatrandom girl you met in a bar and dis-covered was your soul mate…

The Life Coach

Because of our busy lives, I hardly everspeak to one of my closest friends. Butit doesn’t really matter. When we doconnect, without fail, she reinvigoratesme. Her pep talks make me feel morehopeful about myself and my future.What’s more, my energizer friend isstrong and tough, with a vigor for life Ican feed off of. Through her example,she makes me more eager to achieve

my goals or just keep tackling my ev-eryday. Talking with her recharges myemotional battery until the next time wehave a minute to pick up the phone.

The Risk Taker

We all need an adventurous friend whonudges us out of the status quo—some-one who introduces us to new ideas,philosophies, and activities that wemight have otherwise not been exposedto. They helped us become less intimi-dated and more excited about travel-ing. In fact, thanks to them. We drive anRV across cities in summers . Scary?Yes. But we had so much fun, we’regoing again each year.

The Challenger

One characteristic we underrate in afriend is the ability to be brutally hon-est. That’s why we always admired thefriendship of who challenge authori-ties. They led very different lives. Theycontinually and vocally argued aboutsocial rights, women's status and whatis wrong in the society. But becausethey were able to challenge and edu-cate each other, they accomplish muchfor people in the country. It’s also why

they remained close, trusted friends formore than anyone else.

The Loyalist

Every woman needs a “trust worthy”friend—by which we mean a friend youcan be a complete wreck in front of.This pal can drop in unannounced whenyou’re looking your worst. You haven’tshowered and the house is a total di-saster, but she won’t judge you. Moreimportant, he'll/she’ll let you be emo-tional when you’re at a low point. So wecan vent out our frustration at not get-ting the job, our about our relationshipis not going smooth and he/she reallylisten. We all need a friend who hangsin there even when we’re not at ourbest.

The Comic ReliefIf you have a friend who has a greatsense of humour, he/she are acts likesource of relief to you. There's nothingmore exciting than having a friend whocracks jokes in every situation andknows how to bring about laughter.Sense of humour is a great attributeand if you are friends with someonewho is blessed with a sense of humour,you have a priced-possession. Laugh-ter is so essential to life. If you don'thave a friend (or 5!) who can make youhurst uncontrollably into a knee-slap-ping. tears-streaming-down-your-facebelly laugh, then you are totally miss-ing out. Anothergood thing about afriend with a great sense of humour?He/she usually has warmth and com-passion to spare and radiate their hap-piness everywhere.

5 Friends We All Have

20 9 March 2015

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MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Bachelor, aged 32 years, Ht.5’ 11”, Wt. 65 kgs, Wheatish Complex-ion, Edn. HSC., Service. Contact7666527859 (Regd. No. 6283)MUMBAI : Goan Roman Catholic,aged 67 years, looks much youngerto his age, Pensioner from Australia,intend to settled in Mumbai or Goa. Ht.5’ 10”, Wt. 83 kgs, Wheatish complex-ion, Edn. SSC., seeks a girl fromdecend family background. Contact :7506932009. (Regd. No. 6274)MUMBAI : Goan Roman CatholicBachelor, aged 35 years, Ht. 5’ 6”, Wt.72 kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn.MBA Graduate, working as a Manager.Contact email :benson_fernandes@yahoo.co.in OR9819633378 (Regd. No. 6221)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Bachelor, aged 29 years, Ht.5’ 8”, Wt. 82 kgs, Wheatish Complex-ion, Edn. H.S.C. + P.G. Diploma,working on Cruise Ship. Contact email: stanlybobn@yahoo.com OR9869332407 / 22836151. (Regd. No.6220)MUMBAI : Goan Roman CatholicBachelor, aged 46 years, Ht. 5’ 8”, Wt.55 kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn.SSC, working as a LIC Agent Assis-tant. Contact : 9819266107 / 28954378(Regd. No. 6219)AMBERNATH : Roman Catholic Bach-elor 18th June 1983 Born, EducationalThree and Half years Diploma in HotelManagement and Catering Technol-ogy, Height 5’8’’ smart Charming withown accommodation. Working in Ho-tel Industry As Asst. Manager inMumbai Father Govt. Pensioner,Mother I.C Nurse in Govt. HospitalSeeks Alliance from Catholic SpinsterContact: Mrs. Severine DiasAmbernath : 9960582206 (Regd. No.6218)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Bachelor, aged 33 years, Ht.5’ 7”, Wheatish Complexion, Edn.PGDRM, working as a Manager. Con-tact email : larson316@gmail.com

(Regd. No. 6213)RAJKOT : Anglican Protestant Bach-elor, aged 31 yeas, Ht. 5’ 6”, Wt. 63kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn.B.Sc., MBA working as a Manager.Contact email :evie100984@gmail.com OR9662671103 (Regd. No. 6211)MUMBAI : Goan Widower, aged 45years, Ht. 5’ 6”, Wt. 65 kgs, WheatishComplexion, Edn. SSC., HSC, Work-ing Mechanical Technician in Abroad,having 9 years daughter. Currently inMumbai. Contact email :cola_mick@yahoo.com OR9702148869 (Regd. No. 6210)DHARWAD : Goan RC Bachelor aged36 years, Ht. 6’, Wt. 79 kgs, WheatishComplexion, Edn. Masters (NaviticalScience), working as a MerchantNavy 2nd Officer. Contact email :ephremf@gmail.com OR9768153407 (Regd. No. 6205)USA : RC Bachelor 34 / 5’ 9”, work-ing in the USA, with a reputedorganisation on a senior position,M.Com (India), MBA (USA) has goodfamily values god fearing, pleasingpersonality, family oriented and hav-ing own accomodation in the USA.Seeks life partner from a RomanCatholic spinster having goodchristian values and willing to settlein the USA. Please send Bio-dataalongwith thelatest photograph toovrille@gmail.com (Regd. No. 6204)USA : Mangalorean Roman CatholicDivorcee, aged 46 years, Ht. 5’ 6”,Wt. 65 kgs, Wheatish Complexion,Edn.Masters in Engineeing and Busi-ness. Working as a Vice President.Seeks a girl below 40 years. Contactemail : vinodmiranda @yahoo.com /miranda.ronald20@ yahoo.com OR9322191670 (Regd. No. 6199)

MUMBAI : Mangalorean RomanCatholic Divocee, aged 44 years, Ht.6’, Fair Complexion, Edn. Under-graduate, working as a Secu-rity oficer in Ship. Coming in themonth of December, Seeks a suitablematch. Contact Email :maldsouza@gamil.com OR09480157258 (Regd No. 6198)PUNE : Tamilian Roman CatholicBachelor aged 42 years, Ht. 5’ 4”, Wt.62 kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn.Diploma Mech, Engg., Working forGovt. Concern. Well settled. Seeksa simple, qualified girl. Contact email: berland@rediffmail.com OR9822397126 / 8097191727 (Regd.No. 6191)PUNE : Goan Roman Catholic Bach-elor aged 33 years, Ht. 5’ 10”, Wt. 65kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn. Di-ploma Holder, having own business.Seeks a Goan homely, family ori-ented girl. Contact email :inbluedreamz@yahoo.com OR9881768210 (Regd. No. 6198)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RC Bach-elor aged 30 years, Ht. 5’ 8”, Wt. 70kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn.B.Tech., Well settled. Contact email: bridesearch14@gmail.com OR9820324761 (Regd. No. 6188)MUMBAI : Christian Bachelor aged36 years, Ht. 5’ 8”, Wt. 85 kgs, FairComplexion, handsome, Edn.B.Tech, Director in Software basedMNC. Seeks a beutiful, cultured, wellqualified girl. Contact email :adelsib2@yahoo.com OR9324511174 (Regd. No. 6187)

219 March 2015

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MUMBAI : Mangalorean RC Spinster,aged 29 years, Ht. 5’ 2”, Wt. 45 kgs,Wheatish Complexion, Edn. M.Sc.,Service. Contact email :nmd2612@yahoo.in OR 9869959289(Regd. No. 6287)LONDON : East Indian RC Spinster,aged 37 years, Ht. 5’ 2”, Wt. 55 kgs,Fair Complexion, good looking, Edn.B.Pharm (Mumbai), M.Sc. (London)working for MNC in London. Due forU.K. Citizenship. Visiting India everysix months. Seeks a handsome, wellsettled and educated any RomanCatholic Bachelor. Contact email :blossomcolaco@yahoo.com OR9326463210 / 9011869244 (Regd. No.6286)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RC Spinster,aged 24 years, Ht. 5’, Wt. 47 kgs, FairComplexion, Edn. T.Y. B.A / D.ed.,Teacher by profession. Only Child.Contact email :tina.jennifer@rediffmail.com OR9769298095 (Regd. No. 6285)MUMBAI : Roman Catholic Spinster,aged 32 years, Ht. 5’ 3”, Wt. 50 kgs,Wheatish Complexion, Edn. B.Com.,LLB., pursuing LLM. working as a Asst.Manager. Contact email :1february12345@gmail.com OR9967673377 (Regd. No. 6284)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RC Spinster,aged 27 years, Ht. 5’, Wt. 50 kgs, FairComplexion, Edn. B.Com., Service.Contact email :leenamargret@gmail.com OR9833804399 (Regd. No. 6282)MUMBAI : Goan RC Spinster, aged 27years, Ht. 5’ 6”, Wt. 65 kgs, WheatishComplexion, Edn. B. Pharma & MBA,working as an Asst. Manager. Seeksa Enginer or well settled and educated.Contact email :nisha.ferns@yahoo.com OR9870399755 (Regd. No. 6192)MUMBAI : Roman Catholic Spinster,

aged 27 years, Ht. 5’ 2”, WheatishComplexion, Edn. C.A., Manager Ac-counts in Private Limited Company,well settled. Contact email :mabelplobo@gmail.com OR9869017398 (Regd. No. 6190)MUMBAI : Goan (Bardez) RC Spin-ster, aged 32 years, Ht. 5’ 4”, FairComplexion., Edn. B.A., Dip. in Fi-nancial Management, Banking Ex-ams, Working as Senior Manager fora reputed Private Sector Bank Seekseducated and well settled RomanCatholic Goan (Bardez) Bachelorbetween 34-36 years. Ht. 5’ 7” andabove. Contact email :andy.franky@hotmail.com OR9833710833 (Regd. No. 6185)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RC Spinster,aged 35 years, Ht. 5’ 5”, Wt. 65 kgs,Wheatish Complexion, Edn. B.Com.,working as a Sr. Customer ServiceAssociate. Contact email :dsouza.arati@gmail.com OR9869612479 (Regd. No. 6184)MUMBAI : East Indian RC Spinster,aged 44 years, Ht. 5’ 1”, Wt. 62 kgs,Wheatish Complexion, Edn. B.Com.,Giving Tuition. Contact : 9221758206(Regd. No. 6181)MUMBAI : Goan RC Spinster, aged32 years, Ht. 5’ 91/2”, Wt. 70 kgs, FairComplexion, Edn. Graduate workingas a Office Assistant. Contact email :melsav2014@gmail.com OR 022-2416 2210 (Regd. No. 6180)MUMBAI : Goan RC Spinster, aged36 years, Ht. 5’ 6”, Wt. 65 kgs,Wheatish Complexion, Edn. B.Sc.,PGDC, NIIT. working as a Sr. Execu-tive in DUBAI. Looking for well quali-fied bachelor from Working in UAE orMumbai. Contact Email :vsearch2373@gmail.com OR00971501684427 / 919820594221(Regd. No. 6177)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RC Spinster,aged 24 years, Ht. 5’, Wt. 50 kgs,Wheatish Complexion, Edn. HSC,Diploma, working as a Graphic de-signer. Deaf and dumb, can under-stand and speak little in English.Seeks a suitable match. Contactemail : serraonancy3@gmail.com OR

7208812988 (Regd. No. 6176)MUMBAI : Keralite Syro MalabarSpinster, aged 25 years, Ht. 5’ 7”,Wt. 70 kgs, Wheatish Complexion,Edn. MA, working with CFA firm inUSA. Seeks a suitable match. Con-tact email : dayskul@yahoo.co.inOR 9869431648 (Regd. No. 6175)MUMBAI: Goan RC Spinster,PG,aged 27 years. Ht.5’3”, heavy built,wheatish complexion, employedwith Pharma Co having good familyvalues seek alliance from wellsettled Bachelors with good familybackground. Kindly reply with com-plete details with a recent photo-graph onemai l :budd ies_22@yahoo. in(Regd. No. 6174)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RC Spin-ster, aged 27 years, Ht. 5’, Wt. 48kgs, Wheatish Complexion, Edn. BE(IT), working as a Sr. SoftwareEngr., Seeks a suitable well quali-fied match. Contact email :western2462@rediffmail.com OR8652024267 (Regd. No. 6173)MUMBAI : Mangalorean RC spin-ster 1973 born, 5’ 5” tall, fair com-plexion with qualifications, B.Com.(Mumbai), M.B.A. Finance(Canada), M.B.A., (H.R.) and Di-plomas in I.T. (NIIT), Comp.(APTEC), and Cert.Ind Acct.(I.C.A.), working in good position.Graduate / Post Graduate unmar-ried R.C. Bachelors upto 45 years,employed in good position and wellsettled in Mumbai or abroad. Con-tact email :bellwether77@yahoo.com or Mob.No. 9892700617. (Regd. No. 6166)

22 9 March 2015

Why, To Many Critics,Mother Teresa Is Still No Saint

Mother Teresa, the RomanCatholic missionary who became an international icon

for her charitable work, has beendropped into modern India's religiousdebate after the head of the Hindunationalist group RashtriyaSwayamsevak Sangh (RSS) criticizedthe intentions behind her work.

"It's good to work for a cause withselfless intentions. But Mother Teresa'swork had ulterior motive, which was toconvert the person who was beingserved to Christianity," RSS chief MohanBhagwat said at the opening of anorphanage in Rajasthan state on Mon-day, the Times of India reports. "In thename of service, religious conversionswere made. This was followed by otherinstitutes, too."

Bhagwat's comments caused a stormamong opposition politicians, angeredby the implication that a woman whowon a Nobel Peace Prize for her workin India would have had ulterior mo-tives. Congress party official RajivShukla demanded an apology whilethe newly elected Delhi chief minister,Arvind Kejriwal, said Teresa was a"noble soul" and asked RSS to spareher.

This controversy about Mother Teresa,who died in 1997, is far from her first.Her saintly reputation (she is quite liter-ally on the path to sainthood – she wasbeatified in 2003) was gained for aidingCalcutta's poorest of the poor, yet itwas undercut by persistent allegationsof misuse of funds, poor medical treat-ments and religious evangelicalism inthe institutions she founded.

In his critique of Mother Teresa, thedevoutly Hindu Bhagwat finds an un-likely ally in the work of devoutly atheistChristopher Hitchens. The late British

writer became one of the most vocalcritics of Teresa in the 1990s, tying hisreputation to assailing a woman whowas, at the time, an unassailable figure.

In 1994, Hitchens, along with BritishPakistani journalist Tariq Ali, wrote anextremely critical British documentaryon Mother Teresa, titled "Hell's Angel."You can see it for yourself below.

The documentary, which drew heavilyfrom the account of Aroup Chatterjee,an Indian-born British writer who hadworked briefly in one of Mother Teresa'scharitable homes, listed a catalog ofcriticisms against Mother Teresa. Itfound fault with the conditions in thefacilities of Mother Teresa's Missionar-ies of Charity in Calcutta, which onejournalist compared to the photographsshe had seen of Nazi Germany'sBergen-Belsen concentration camp,and Hitchens himself rallied againstthe "cult of death and suffering."

The documentary also argued thatTeresa was an "ally of the status quo,"pointing to her relationships with dubi-ous figures all around the world, mostnotably Haitian dictator Jean-ClaudeDuvalier and scandal-hit American fin-ancier Charles Keating. "She may ormay not comfort the afflicted, but shehas never been known to afflict thecomfortable," Hitchens explains.

'Hell's Angel' sparked an internationaldebate, and Hitchens soon followed itup with a pamphlet, unfortunately titled"The Missionary Position," which re-peated and expanded upon his criti-cisms. As Bruno Maddox put it in a

review for the New York Times, Hitchensconcluded that Mother Teresa was "lessinterested in helping the poor than inusing them as an indefatigable sourceof wretchedness on which to fuel theexpansion of her fundamentalist Ro-man Catholic beliefs."

Hitchens' critiques of Teresa may comeacross as polemical, but it's far from theonly criticism. British medical journalthe Lancet published a critical accountof the care in Mother Teresa's facilitiesin 1994 and an academic Canadianstudy from a couple of years ago foundfault with "her rather dubious way ofcaring for the sick, her questionablepolitical contacts, her suspicious man-agement of the enormous sums ofmoney she received, and her overlydogmatic views regarding, in particu-lar, abortion, contraception, and di-vorce." Aroup Chatterjee also publishedhis own extremely critical book onMother Teresa in 2003.

Many who support Mother Teresa dis-pute these accounts, of course, butthey exist and are frequently debated.In fact, when compared to the criticismthat already exists about Mother Teresaand the Missionaries of Charity,Bhagwat's words look relatively meek:Multiple accounts say that MotherTeresa's nuns would baptize the dyingand she had a reputation for proselytiz-ing.

However, Bhagwat's comments arebeing received in the light of ongoingreligious tensions in India, accented byPrime Minister Narendra Modi's ownpious Hindu faith and personal historywith RSS. Religious conversions inparticular have become a touchy sub-ject in the predominantly Hindu nation,with Muslims said to be pressured intoconverting to Hinduism and Christianconverts fearing violence.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/02/25/why-to-many-critics-mother-teresa-is-still-no-saint/

washingtonpost.com

239 March 2015 239 March 2015

Royal Christian Family

GET-TOGETHERof Brides and Grooms

Royal Christian Family99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st Floor, Near GPO.,

Fort, Mumbai 400001Tel.: 022 - 22693578, 22654924

Email: royalchristianfamily@gmail.com

Get-togethers are held from time-to-time betweenboys and girls of matching age group maintainedin our Get-together Data-bank

If you wish to participate in these get-togethers,you need to give your entry in advance which willbe recorded in our Get-together Data-bank. (youneed not do any payment while giving the entry)

From the Get-together Data-bank, we select thematching boys and girls from time-to-time andinvite them for the Get-together. The dates are notannounced but communicated individually.

Once your entry is included in our Data-bank, Youwill be contacted when there are sufficient choicesto include you in a particular Get-together.

Mail your profile entry with photograph to :royalchristianfamily@gmail.com or if you haveregistred with us, simply give your registration no.

It is very easy for a new investor to getexcited in making money and takewrong decisions while planning his

finances. The above steps would help tobring some order and progress in finan-cial life.

Investing is something most peoplewill do during their lifetime. They mayinvest in real estate, life insurance, stocks,bonds or mutual funds.

Liberty of spending in the first year: When you startworking and income starts coming in, saving and investingare generally not on the top of the priority list for mostpeople. You would wish to buy things you wanted for long,but could not afford it with the pocket money you receivedas a student. Although it is often stressed that the earlier youstart saving, the better it is, it is acceptable if you spend inthe first year of your career.

Hence if saving and investing are thrust upon them,right from the start, they become averse to this. They havenot yet benefited from the money they have earned andmany desires remain unfulfilled. So it is not wise to talk aboutthings like finance and financial planning at the beginning.

Learn the various aspects of finance: It is easy to take thehelp of a financial planner and start the process of financialplanning. Although this is a more professional and orga-nized approach to set your finances right, you must alsotake the trouble of getting your hands dirty. Understand thebasic concepts of saving and investing, and also how eachinvestment avenue works. When you are clear of theconcepts and fundamentals, you can easily comprehendthe various happenings in the market and also what yourplanner says.

Establish goals and plan your financial life: You can planyour investments in different areas after defining and priori-tizing your goals. Remember to determine the presentestimated cost for each goal and then inflate it to theapproximate value as on the due date. Do review and investwisely by consulting experts.

Start a Recurring Deposit: A recurring deposit helps youto save regularly and is a safe investment option for anewcomer. It is simple to understand and inculcates thediscipline of saving. Therefore, as you begin learningvarious concepts of personal finance, you must start arecurring deposit side by side. You can invest any amountaccording to your salary and depending on the amount youcan save after your expenses.

Get the important things done first: Certain activities liketaking a life insurance cover, taking a health insurancecover, having an emergency fund, starting a PPF and NPSaccount and getting your basic documents in place are ofprime importance. Once you establish a risk cover and

install a retirement plan, you can thengradually look at new avenues like equitymutual funds, real estate.

Remember:Entering the world of investments can bean overwhelming and intimidating experi-ence. There is so much information, in-vestment strategies and investment types

that it would take a lifetime to learn all of them, and by then,it's too late. Start with some simple, safe investments whileyou continue to learn.

Finance For New Investor

24 9 March 2015

24 9 March 2015

Printed and Published by Lawrence Coelho at The Secular Citizen, 99, Perin Nariman Street, 1st Floor, Harihar Nivas, Fort, Mumbai - 400 001. Tel.: 2269 3578, 2265 4924Printers: The Secular Citizen, Fort, Mumbai 400001. Editor : Philip Myaboo

Published on every Monday & Posted on Monday & Tuesday of every weekPosted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office, Mumbai - 400001.

RNI No. 56987/92 Registered No. MCS/100/2015-17Licenced to Post without prepayment Licence No. MR/TECH/WPPMR/TECH/WPPMR/TECH/WPPMR/TECH/WPPMR/TECH/WPP-70/SOUTH/2015-70/SOUTH/2015-70/SOUTH/2015-70/SOUTH/2015-70/SOUTH/2015

In its service spanning over 32 years,ROYAL CHRISTIAN FAMILY

has helped thousands of marriageable boys and girlsin finding their suitable Life-partner

from its wide data-bank of Christian Brides and Groomsfrom across India and all over the world

Royal Christian Family99, Perin Nariman (Bazargate) Street, 1st Floor,

(Above Mahesh Paper Mart & Dr. Kothari Clinic), Nr. CST & GPOFort, Mumbai 400001

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