Some Catholics in Goa say their priests have betrayed them in their campaign to have the Roman script used in the written expression of the Konkani language.
Konkani is the official language of Goa, and for several decades the Church has pressed for the Roman script to be used in writing it. Hindus, who form some 67 percent of the state's 1.3 million people, use the Devanagari script for the language. They dismiss the Roman script as a "missionary script," since Christian missioners introduced it.
The issue took on political overtones after 1987, when Goa became a state and the government recognized Devanagari as the script for Konkani. This script is used for Sanskrit and several languages in northern India.
Until recently the Church was united in its demand for the use of the Roman script. But now Catholics say some priests working in the archbishop's house no longer support the cause.
"We feel betrayed by our own priests," says Maria Fernandes, a Catholic. The Church has "backed us for decades on the Konkani cause," she told UCA News, but "now the Hindus are laughing at us."
A pro-Roman script group had sent a letter to parish priests appealing for Catholics to attend a Feb. 10 rally intended to counter a Feb. 10-12 world Konkani convention in the Goa capital of Panaji, some 1,910 kilometers southwest of New Delhi. The convention advocated use of the Devanagari script. The pro-Roman script group wanted its appeal to be read out in churches.
Some priests called up the archbishop's house for advice. As Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa and Daman was at the Indian bishops' plenary in Bangalore, his secretary, Father Joaquim Loiola Pereira, told the priests not to read out the appeal. Later, the priests working in the archbishop's house called up all parishes and asked priests not to read it out.
The Catholic rally organizers said they wanted to protest the Konkani convention's divisive and "fascist" agenda of promoting "one script, one language, one literature and one community." Opponents attribute the move to right-wing Hindu nationalist groups.
Rally organizers argued that after official recognition of the Devanagari script, Goa's Catholics have faced discrimination in employment, such as in government publications and state projects, and in literary awards and grants.
Catholics generally are fluent in the Roman script, used in liturgical publications, but many are said to struggle still with the Devanagari script.
From the archbishop's house, Father Raymond Antao, who heads the archdiocesan Center for Social Communication Media, justified the directive not to read out the rally organizers' appeal. According to him, it "did not come from a proper forum" and was issued without consulting the archbishop.
"We have to have proper consultations before such announcements are made from the pulpit, or else it can trigger a backlash," he explained.
Some priests who attended the rally, however, decried such an attitude. One who refused to be named countered that priests should not be treated as "animals" without the ability to think.
"We know what is good for the people," he said, adding that priests have already been making other announcements in church from various bodies including government agencies.
At least four priests occupied the dais at the pro-Roman script rally. Some others present said the directive from the archbishop's house placed the clergy in a poor light. A Konkani newspaper ran a headline saying that Archbishop Ferrao did not support the use of the Roman script.
Tomazinho Cardozo, a Catholic leader of the pro-Roman script movement, blamed the refusal to read the appeal in churches for the poor turnout of fewer than 500 people. "Whenever we had meetings with the archbishop, he was always sympathetic to our cause," he added.
Father Mousinho de Ataide, who teaches canon law at the archdiocesan seminary, attended the Konkani convention's valedictory function and was its chief guest. He supports the Devanagari script out of conviction, he told UCA News. Devanagari is not only the natural script of Konkani, but wa
s in use before the arrival of Portuguese missioners, he explained.
Father Antimo Gomes, a parish priest who shared the dais at the pro-Roman script rally, said about 20 of the archdiocese's 630 priests support the Devanagari script since they are afraid of a Hindu-Catholic divide in the state. But the script issue itself had created the sectarian divide, he added.
At a Feb. 22 function in Panaji, State Industries Minister Luizinho Faleiro called for the two script factions to come together and develop the Konkani language further, rather than having Goans "fight among ourselves." Nonetheless, he called for proper recognition of those using the Roman script.
Konkani is the official language of Goa, and for several decades the Church has pressed for the Roman script to be used in writing it. Hindus, who form some 67 percent of the state's 1.3 million people, use the Devanagari script for the language. They dismiss the Roman script as a "missionary script," since Christian missioners introduced it.
The issue took on political overtones after 1987, when Goa became a state and the government recognized Devanagari as the script for Konkani. This script is used for Sanskrit and several languages in northern India.
Until recently the Church was united in its demand for the use of the Roman script. But now Catholics say some priests working in the archbishop's house no longer support the cause.
"We feel betrayed by our own priests," says Maria Fernandes, a Catholic. The Church has "backed us for decades on the Konkani cause," she told UCA News, but "now the Hindus are laughing at us."
A pro-Roman script group had sent a letter to parish priests appealing for Catholics to attend a Feb. 10 rally intended to counter a Feb. 10-12 world Konkani convention in the Goa capital of Panaji, some 1,910 kilometers southwest of New Delhi. The convention advocated use of the Devanagari script. The pro-Roman script group wanted its appeal to be read out in churches.
Some priests called up the archbishop's house for advice. As Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa and Daman was at the Indian bishops' plenary in Bangalore, his secretary, Father Joaquim Loiola Pereira, told the priests not to read out the appeal. Later, the priests working in the archbishop's house called up all parishes and asked priests not to read it out.
The Catholic rally organizers said they wanted to protest the Konkani convention's divisive and "fascist" agenda of promoting "one script, one language, one literature and one community." Opponents attribute the move to right-wing Hindu nationalist groups.
Rally organizers argued that after official recognition of the Devanagari script, Goa's Catholics have faced discrimination in employment, such as in government publications and state projects, and in literary awards and grants.
Catholics generally are fluent in the Roman script, used in liturgical publications, but many are said to struggle still with the Devanagari script.
From the archbishop's house, Father Raymond Antao, who heads the archdiocesan Center for Social Communication Media, justified the directive not to read out the rally organizers' appeal. According to him, it "did not come from a proper forum" and was issued without consulting the archbishop.
"We have to have proper consultations before such announcements are made from the pulpit, or else it can trigger a backlash," he explained.
Some priests who attended the rally, however, decried such an attitude. One who refused to be named countered that priests should not be treated as "animals" without the ability to think.
"We know what is good for the people," he said, adding that priests have already been making other announcements in church from various bodies including government agencies.
At least four priests occupied the dais at the pro-Roman script rally. Some others present said the directive from the archbishop's house placed the clergy in a poor light. A Konkani newspaper ran a headline saying that Archbishop Ferrao did not support the use of the Roman script.
Tomazinho Cardozo, a Catholic leader of the pro-Roman script movement, blamed the refusal to read the appeal in churches for the poor turnout of fewer than 500 people. "Whenever we had meetings with the archbishop, he was always sympathetic to our cause," he added.
Father Mousinho de Ataide, who teaches canon law at the archdiocesan seminary, attended the Konkani convention's valedictory function and was its chief guest. He supports the Devanagari script out of conviction, he told UCA News. Devanagari is not only the natural script of Konkani, but wa
s in use before the arrival of Portuguese missioners, he explained.Father Antimo Gomes, a parish priest who shared the dais at the pro-Roman script rally, said about 20 of the archdiocese's 630 priests support the Devanagari script since they are afraid of a Hindu-Catholic divide in the state. But the script issue itself had created the sectarian divide, he added.
At a Feb. 22 function in Panaji, State Industries Minister Luizinho Faleiro called for the two script factions to come together and develop the Konkani language further, rather than having Goans "fight among ourselves." Nonetheless, he called for proper recognition of those using the Roman script.
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