Cause To Be Sick
©Prakash J. Maskaren. 21st Dec., 2002. Auto-URL: http://www.geocities.com/prakashjm45/causetobesick.html
Last week, I had published an article, On the Awful, Yawning Brink (http://www.geocities.com/prakashjm45/brink.html) warning that we, the Goan Christian people are on the verge of being completely de-Christianized and de-Goanized.
I am now providing further proof of this ongoing process.
Recently, there was a series of letters in response to a self-laudatory — monstrously loaded — letter by a Gordon and Anita Rodrigues, printed in the Examiner, the official organ of the Bombay Diocese of the New Catholic Church, under Fr. Ivan Dias, its 'bishop'. It is extra-ordinary — and telling, that this letter, re-produced below, was printed without comment or rebuttal by this Church magazine, ostensibly meant to promote and propagate the true faith and to refute erroneous teachings and beliefs.
Reading that letter, and the other similar letters, such as by Ashirvadam and Edgar St. Martins, makes me sick, sick to the very core of my being, so much so that I want to vomit!
Imagine, such openly contemptuous disregard for the First Commandment, that people like Remo Fernandes et al are pushing, Let us go forth and fornicate, worshipping Baal. Let us set up the idols of Chemosh and Moloch, as our neighbours do, and sacrifice our children to them. Let us worship base animals and deny the humanity of men. Let us degrade ourselves by holding animal dung as sacred! Etc. etc.
Sir, You know of the practice since several years for some parishes of our "Church" to get the "faithful" to participate in a home-to-home community function once a year. The statue representing the Apparitions of 'Our Lady of Fatima' at Fatima, Portugal to the 3 children in 1917, was rotated amongst the homes of identified parishioners in GOOD SHEPHERD Versova parish for a day.
Community prayers as decided by each participant, in keeping with the Revelations of the apparition were offered. This year for the first time we were chosen as one such home. We took the cue from various texts and readings relating to the appartions of 'Our Lady of Fatima,' to offer the event, for Inter-Religious Harmony in India considering the sinister, protracted and willful efforts by the Government and its tentacles the VHP, Bajrang Dal and RSS to foster and promote Inter-Religious Discord which will lead to the disintegration of our country.
Our event coincided with the Ganesh Chaturthi festival, Mahavir Jayanti, Parsi New Year, and Mount Mary's feast at Bandra. To symbolise and highlight the Inter-Religious Harmony theme we had with us friends, Nisha (Muslim), Jijoo Billimoria (Zoroastrian), and Pooja Sinha (Hindu).
We had a Choir with a guitar singing Hymns in Marathi, Hindi, Konkani and English. Our hall had the statue of Our Lady of Fatima along with those of Ganesh, Mahavir and other deities.
We are pleased at the success of the event and hope that others will follow suit in orienting religious functions to foster better inter-religious understanding and respect for each other's beliefs, and thwart the evil intentions of some of our politicians who seem to be succeeding in destroying whatever good feelings exist between persons of different religions, faiths and beliefs in India.
Gordon and Anita Rodrick
Andheri, Bombay.
Letters to the Editor, The Examiner, 23rd November 2002
Sir, - In our eagerness to prove our secular credentials, it seems that we are sacrificing our own religious beliefs at the altar of appeasement, cloaked as the activity of building communal harmony. As stated in the letter in the Examiner of 9th November 2002, 'Our Lady of Fatima', the presence of members of other faiths and clay idols placed on the same platform as the image of the Mother of God, transformed a purely religious rite into an exercise to build inter-religious harmony! But can we not promote inter-religious harmony without adopting each other's 'gods' and 'lords'?
How can any Christian forget that idolatry is strictly forbidden and the Holy Bible is filled with references to the worship of idols, eating food offered to idols, the origin of idolatry etc... In 1 Cor. 8:4-6, the message reads thus - 'We now that an idol stands for something that really does not exist; we know that there is only ONE GOD.'
Even if there are so-called 'gods,' whether in heaven or on earth and even though there are many of these 'gods' and 'lords', yet there is for us only one GOD, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for Whom we live; and there is only one LORD, Jesus Christ, through Whom all things were created and through Whom we live. The first commandment of our faith states - I am the God your Lord, you shall not have other gods beside me! In our faith images are not worshipped but merely used to visualize the objects of our devotion by placing their likeness before our mortal eyes.
There are ways and means to build communal hamony without encroaching on other religious practices. Let us make a beginning with the assimilation of the culture of the society we live in - its languages, traditions, dress, food habits and customs. A deeper understanding of the diversity that lends much of its colour to Indian life will lead to a genuine appreciation of the essence of India.
Respect for other religions need not culminate in compromises. Instead of standing like sore thumbs as 'aliens', we need to blend to our lifestyles to merge with India's ethos. Adopt the good in others - fasting once a week, concern for animal life, respect to elders, triumph of good over evil, etc.
There there is no need for Our Lady, the mother of our Lord Jesus to be stranded among the earthly 'lords'!!
Vera Alvares
Bandra, Bombay.
Sir, Most of us are happy to consume misleading myths of different faiths. Yet, stereotypical notions and myths continue to circulate, creating differences between communities.
In God's eyes, all humans are equal. Differences and conflicts are entirely man-made. The best way to bridge gaps and clear doubts is to have more people-to-people contacts between different faiths.
If only religion was not made out to be such a formidable subject, we would be able to look upon God as a close friend and confidante, whether He lived in a gurudwara, temple, church or mosque, or even if you prefer to see Him in nature - in trees, flowers and mountains for instance. God, the Creator, cannot obviously be confined to small spaces - He is everywhere.
God's presence can be sensed everywhere: in the teachings of religions, and simply in every person you come across. Befriend those from different faiths and freely question each other about your respective faiths. This is the best way to clear doubts, most often sown by those who want to divide and misrule.
Edward A. Ashirvadam
Wagle Estate, Thane.
Letters to the Editor, The Coastal Observer, November - December 2002
Sir, I was greatly shocked and disturbed that the 'Examiner,' which is the official organ of the Catholic Church in India, chose to give publicity to a letter "Our Lady of Fatima," in its 9th Nov., issue, in connection with the idolatry practised in one of the Catholic homes of the Bombay diocese, where non-Christian deities were installed and worshipped in the presence of Our Lady of Fatima, and some non-Christian guests to promote inter-religious harmony.
It brought back painful memories of the Assisi 'tamasha' of 1986, convened by Pope John-Paul II for world peace, where among hundreds of participants of different world religions, the Dalai Lama placed the statue of Buddha atop the tabernacle of the Assisi altar of St. Peter, and worshipped it with incense burners and scrolls around it. Some church dignitaries later described the event as the "greatest abomination in church history" and "culminating insult to our Lord."
We have reached the point of no return apparently, and not far from the day when idolatry is no more a sin, as it is a thing of the past, and non-Christian deities will be permanently installed and worshipped in our churches as part of the grand ecumenical movement. It all began with Inculturation, then non-Christian Scriptures, and the final nail will be the worship of non-Christian idols. After all, there is only one God, and the infallible teaching of the church that there can be no salvation outside the church is now outdated ecclesiology.
A. F. Nazareth
Mahim, Bombay. 400016.
Letters to the Editor, The Goan Review, Nov. - Dec. 2002
In Defense of Our Heritage
Sir, - I for one would hae appreciated being born today to study Konkani like it is in our Goan schools - to use the Devanagri script. This script has something to link us with the Gods as Deva means God.
Edgar Martins
[email protected]
I have edited these letters to an extent. I cannot, keeping the First Commandment in sight, ever call these 'things' - these Ganesh, Mahavir and other loathsome demons, 'God' and 'Lord' without vomiting.
Lastly, I reproduce Dr. Francis Louis Saldanha's article, in excerpt, from the Coastal Observer, once again.
The old popular Ladainhas (Litanies) followed by zahttak / copa, are rare, so is the loud recitation of the Rosary at night, the direct, vociferous invocation of the Almighty, out of vogue, but the Charismatic spirit is slowly spreading and Potta (a city in the Malabar, center of the Charismatic movement) is often dwelt upon. Hearsay a few Catholics have become Protestants.
Dr. Saldanha celebrates the Bastardization of our Konkani, the creation of this Sankritized Konkani, or rather Shit-Konkani. I have already, in my article, On the Awful, Yawning Brink, (http://www.geocities.com/prakashjm45/brink.html) shown how it is this New Catholic Church which is the main conspirator against us, against our Goan identity, history, culture, traditions - both Ecclesial and social, etc., all of which it hates with an overpowering passion and which it has been endeavouring to overcome and eradicate since 1958, to de-Christianize us.
It is only a popular misconception that 'a small number have turned Protestant.' This entire sect, under John-Paul II is actually a Liberal Protestant sect, the Modernists, an Evolutionist offshoot of Lutheran Protestantism from Germany and the rest of Europe. This sect and its ideology had already been condemned as anti-Catholic by Pope St. Pius X in the earlier part of the last century. Yet it is the adherents of this same sect, who remained secretly within the bosom of the Catholic Church, who hijacked the flock in 1958 and have lead them into the path of Death. Therefore, all those who are adherents of this sect are actually Protestants!
In this regard, I reproduce part of a letter from a Hector Damaso, a Phillipino...
Maybe you're not expecting this email but I hope you will read this.
I'm Hector Damaso from the Philippines, 24 years old and an active member in some lay apostolates in the Church as well as in some charismatic groups which are very rampant here in our place. I was born in the spirit and letters of Vatican II and so I was not able to witness the great liturgical heritage of our Catholic Church as well as her attitude towards the world and other religions which now the Church seeks friendship and unity. I was then raised in the reformed liturgy and that is the Mass of Pope Paul VI known also as the Novus Ordo Missae.
At first, it okey with me. I go to the Church every sunday to fulfill my Sunday obligation and to worship Our dear Lord in the Holy Eucharist until such time I met some people who became friends of mine who doesn't like the renewed liturgy or the Mass. There, started my confusion because they openly question the validity of the New order of the Mass and they say many things that are not good that happening in the Church today. They are against in Ecumenism, religious liberty and many others for it was of the Modernism which was condemned by the Church before Vatican II.
I scandalized by it since it was in that Mass I was raised by my Mother and at the same time I was in trouble, doubts and confusion. What is really happenings in the Church today? And so I conduct my own investigation and research about it in the internet. Though I have that financial difficulties but I tried to keep a money for it since I'm only renting a computer with internet in an Internet Cafe. And i found out that indeed there is a different in the Old and New Mass, that the Church changed the way she treated other religions and the protestants. It caused me some questions. If i will questioned the validity of the Mass of Paul VI it is the same with questioning the authority of the Pope who imposed and ordered it and many others.
Here in our place, communion in hand is common and practiced every Mass, disribution of communion by some lay ministers, and many others.
What's wrong with Vatican II? Why there was a abrupt change in the Church? Is the Church today the same with the Church prior Vatican II? Is Modernism now accepted in the Church? Why there was a change? Why all these things happened? Whose to be blaimed for this?
Even interpreting the Bible is now different. I've heard many Catholics who enrolled in a Catholic University taking Theology that Genesis is a myth especially the first three chapters, that Adam and Eve was a community of men and women and not as single pair, that the Serpent there is just a symbol and even the temptation of Christ in the Desert was also symbolical - that it was an inner struggle and it involved no dialogue. Are all these things true? These are some of the questions that are bothering me today.
In connection to this, I am requesting you (if possible) to help me... (please...) through sending me some information, book, booklets or anything that will help me answer some of my questions and confusion. Here in our place, you will not see such books that will explain or tackles that issue and so I dont have that oppurtunity to have that books. To order it abroad may cost a lot and personally I cannot afford to do it. And so I'm here begging for your help and support from your kind heart. I can assure you that it would be of great help not only to me but to all those who blindly brainwashed by other. I can used it also in my Catechesis especially
in the province where I came from. Please help...
I'm looking forward and praying for your positive response in this request of mine.
Thank you very much for reading this lengthy letter of mine.
May Our Blessed Mother - Mother of the Church guide and protect us in all our endeavor.
GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS!
Sincerely yours,
HECTOR DAMASO
If we want to save ourselves and our country, then we must necessarily reject this sect and return to the Catholic Church under Pope Michael, (http://PopeMichael.Homestead.Com) with the Latin Mass, priest facing the altar and not the people, women veiled, a complete rejection of Vatican II and of the Agiornomento of Roncalli, etc. This is the only way to secure and restore our identity, our history, our traditions, etc.
For easy reference, I reproduce a part of my website's main page:
BASIC POSITIONS
Against Eclecticism:
The Liturgy of every group of people who are not in union with the Church of Christ is an act of disobedience, and is therefore a participation in the Rebellion of the Fallen Angels. As such, not only are these not acceptable to God, they are positively forbidden to all who are of God, who wish to be of God.
To participate in such a rite, then is a grave sin, which in theology is called, Communicatio in Sacris.
This is true even when the particular schismatic has retained the valid order of the Holy Sacrifice, so that when they offer up the Sacrifice, they do not earn the pleasure of God, but His wrath. The Unity Of God
What do we mean when we say, God is One?
There are two interpretations put forward for this, both MUTUALLY exclusive. The Christian says that there is only one true God and all the others are false. The Pagan says that all that are called deities have a real, substantial unity, which we cannot see, so that all these are in fact just one reality, one deity.
The Pagans' Unitivist position is wrong and false. It has been created in response and reaction to Christianity, to counteract its appeal and to deceive souls. It is also illogical.
If all that are called deities are unitive, then we must affirm the totally absurd idea that God must be both exclusively Good and also exclusively Evil, for very many religions have evil 'gods'.
Again, let us consider that, for example, Zorastrianism considers the Hindu 'gods' — devas or surs — as evil beings and the Hindu demons — the Asura (Ahura) as Good. Obviously, then, there is a real and irreconcilable opposition, which makes nonsense of the Unitivist argument.
However, what is most important, when considering the argument of such sons of damnation as Ashirvadam, 'that the differences are merely man-made', we must remember that God has consistently and insistently stressed on this difference, and made it the main test of our fidelity. Therefore, those who say as Ashirvadam say, call our God a liar, and set themselves up in opposition to Him, blaspheming Him.
Do you want to be a part of this monstrousity?