Comments by Subhash Velingkar, former local leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a month before the start of the ten-year exhibition of the saint’s remains, have sparked demonstrations and protests. Father Savio Fernandes, executive secretary of the Council for Social Justice and Peace, called for social harmony. Several local politicians filed complaints for offending religious sentiments.
Goa () – The ecclesiastical authorities of the state of Goa, in western India, have launched an appeal for peace and moderation following comments by Subhash Velingkar, former local leader of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (Rss), who called a DNA analysis of the relics of Saint Francis Xavier, patron saint of the city of Goa. The statements, made on October 2, a month before the start of the exhibition of the saint’s remains, which has been held for ten years, sparked demonstrations and protests.
In a statement issued on the afternoon of October 5, Father Savio Fernandes, executive secretary of the Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP), said that the Catholic community of Goa condemned Velingkar’s “offensive and derogatory” statements. but he urged the faithful to maintain moderation for the sake of peace and harmony between communities.
“Velingkar’s statements deeply hurt the religious feelings not only of Catholics, but also of many people belonging to other confessions, who venerate the saint for the numerous favors received in their lives after praying for him,” the statement read. Next, Father Fernandes recalled that the true priorities are other: “We call on citizens not to divert their attention from the main problems that afflict our State,” he stressed.
The CSJP also called on the competent authorities to take necessary measures, in accordance with current legislation, and stressed that Velingkar had tried to “deliberately and maliciously” pit “one community against another.”
Expelled from the RSS, a Hindu extremist organization close to the national ruling party, the BJP, Velingkar had already declared two years ago that Saint Francis Xavier could not be considered “Goencho Saib”, protector of the city of Goa, and had started a campaign to replace his figure with that of a warrior from Hindu mythology called Parshuram.
Francis Xavier, a Spanish Jesuit missionary, landed in Goa in 1542, when the region was a Portuguese colony. His relics are kept in the Bom Jesus Basilica in ancient Goa and are scheduled to be displayed from November 21, 2024 to January 5, 2025.
On Friday, October 4, more than 300 people, including some local political leaders, gathered in front of the Margao police station. The next day, protesters blocked roads in Margao, Anjuna and Old Goa.
On October 3, Velingkar in turn accused “certain activist groups” of spreading “false narratives” and filed a complaint with the police: “I recently made a statement about the Goa Inquisition, an unfortunate chapter in the history of the city, occurred during Portuguese rule. Although history recognizes the contribution of Saint Francis Xavier to the spread of Christianity, it is important to know that the Goan Inquisition spread terror among many non-Christians,” he said.
“The initiative for a DNA test to verify the identity of the remains, believed to be those of St. Francis Xavier, has gained momentum among Buddhists in Sri Lanka and around the world,” he added.
Churchill Alemao, former chief minister of Goa and member of the All India Trinamool Congress, also filed a police complaint against Velingkar: “People of all faiths – Hindus, Muslims and Christians – have lived peacefully in Goa, but people like him try destroy the historical harmony between communities. These statements hurt the feelings of all those who venerate Saint Francis Xavier. “I have filed a complaint at the Colva police station,” he explained.
The current chief minister of the state, Pramod Sawant, of the BJP, assured that action would be taken against Velingkar: “Any action taken in the case against Father Bolmax Pereira will also apply to Velingkar,” he announced. Father Bolmax Pereira, parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Church in Chicalim, South Goa, was denounced last year for offending religious sentiments during a sermon in which he made derogatory remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, a maharaja who fought against the Mughal empires.
The chief minister asked citizens not to take the law into their own hands: “No one should try to create tensions between communities. “Equal justice will be guaranteed to all,” he declared.
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