First beneficiary of Diocese's 160 house-project says she has been deceived

January 21, 2012

PUCL_21Jan_1

Mangalore, January 22: “Jesus Christ will not forgive the sin of the Mangalore Diocese, which is fooling poor Christians without any sense of shame” — This was the reaction of a poor Christian couple, which was projected as the first beneficiary of the 'Mangalore Diocese's 'philanthropic project' of donating 160 houses to poor as part of its post-centenary silver jubilee celebrations.

“We are deeply hurt after coming to know that media projected us as the first beneficiaries of the Mangalore Diocese's so called 'shelter-for-poor' project. In fact we were the first victims of the unpardonable lie and deceit of the Diocese”, said Irene Rita D'Souza, whose husband John D'Souza had received the key from Mangalore Bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D'Souza on January 16, at a formal 'house donation function' in the presence of media at Maroli near here.

“Neither me, nor my husband were aware that Mangalore Diocese was going to project our newly constructed house as donation, when they forcefully organized a 'house-warming' celebration”, said D'Souza at a press conference convened by the local unit of Peoples Union for Civil Liberties here on Saturday.

“How can the Church people call it a donation, when I had pledged my gold ornaments to construct this 400 square feet house on our own land?,” questioned Irene D'Souza, who claims herself to be an illiterate.

Irene and her husband who resided in a rented house in Kulashekara for many years, had dreamt of constructing a house of their own.

“By pledging three gold ornaments including a wedding ring, I was able to raise Rs70, 000 to construct the house. However, we needed more money to complete the house” she said.

PUCL_21Jan_2

“Meanwhile, Kulashekara Church furnished me a loan of Rs 1 lakh and asked to sign on a stamp paper committing me to pay Rs 2,000 every month. They also gave me Rs 50,000 additional loan. However, when the Church people invited me for the loan they did not inform me about the Diocese's plan of house donation,” she said.

She said that she came to know about the real picture only after people began to point fingers at her.

“I felt humiliated when I was told that the house was a donation of the church. Feeling robbed of my self-respect, I immediately returned Rs 50,000 to Fr Valerian Pinto in Kulashekara church,” she said.

She also said that she wanted to return the loan of Rs 1 lakh too at a public function in front of the media. “Let Mangalore Diocese organize a function to take back their loan and remove the plaque with the engraving that the house is a donation of Mangalore diocese,” she said.

She also criticised the double standard of the priests. “They preach in the Church that when you do alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does. But the same priests projected the house constructed with my own money and with the help of loans, as their donation”, she lamented.

PUCL State President PB D'sa said the family's plight was just a tip of the iceberg when it comes to the blunders of the Mangalore Diocese. He predicted that there would be a repeat of such incidents as diocese completes 160 houses.

key

Mangalore Bishop hands over key to the poor Christian couple –File Photo

Related News: Mangalore Diocese hands over key of the first home

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 30,2020

Bengaluru, May 30: A city corporator in Bengaluru was sent into quarantine on Saturday after he tested positive for the coronavirus infection, officials said.

"Yes, I have tested positive," Padarayanapura municipal ward corporator Imran Pasha told some news channels.

The JDS corporator said he would quarantine himself as per the regulations.

The entire area where Pasha lives was cordoned off.

Health workers reached there in an ambulance and gave him a personal protection gear to wear and he was taken to a designated hospital.

Reacting to the development, Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka claimed Pasha hardly paid heed to the COVID-19 regulations.

"He rushes to all those places wherever there are positive cases...," Ashoka told reporters.

Padarayanapura was declared as a containment zone earlier with a few cases coming to the fore.

It was in this area where some policemen and health workers were attacked when they went to quarantine a few primary and secondary contacts of a COVID-19 patient about a month ago.

Following the incident, about 125 people were arrested, and later quarantined after a few of them tested positive.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 3,2020

Bengaluru, April 3: Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda has written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stating that he has communicated in writing to Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to make arrangements for the passing of vehicles related to medical facilities and essential goods between Mangaluru and Kasargod.

"What made me write this letter is the pain and anguish I experienced when BM Farookhji, the national working president of JDS and K Krishnan Kutty, MLA and a member of your Cabinet and member of JDS, a coalition partner of your government brought to my notice the inhuman and inappropriate action on part of the authorities of Karnataka to block the interstate highway between Mangaluru and Kasargod, bringing the traffic movements between the two states and particularly to Kasargod district having a sizeable population of Kannadigas to a grinding halt," Gowda wrote in the letter.

"I immediately wrote a letter to Yeddiyurappaji, the Chief Minister of Karnataka to make arrangements to permit goods movement and the passage of ambulances and other vehicles for any emergency. But authorities of Karnataka government appears to be very adamant despite the assurance given before the High Court," it added.

Gowda said that the situation is very grim since he learnt that four to five patients died for want of medical facilities since the ambulances ferrying the patients were denied permission to cross the border, to avail treatment from the hospitals at Mangaluru.

He also condemned the Karnataka government for denying access to medical facilities to people in Kerala.

"I very strongly condemn the attitude of the BJP government in Karnataka denying access to people from Kerala to avail medical facilities on emergency and also the movement of essential goods for the survival of the people and deprivation of such emergency services amounts to violation of human rights and opposed to all norms of humanity and humanitarian considerations," the letter read.
Gowda said he will take up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I take this opportunity to assure you that I will take up this issue with the Prime Minister who had assured while imposing 21 days of lockdown that the supply of essential commodities will be maintained and hospital facilities will be kept open round the clock so as to prevent any untoward incident," he stated.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 26,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 26: Paying tributes to the martyrs of Kargil war on its 21st anniversary, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Sunday said his government always stood by the soldiers and families of those who laid down their lives to protect the borders of the country.

"The government is always committed to the welfare of the soldiers. Karnataka has formed a separate department for the welfare of the soldiers and their families. We always stand with the families of the martyred soldiers," he said. He was addressing soldiers after paying tributes to the martyrs of the Kargil war at an official function organised on the occasion of Kargil Vijay Diwas at the National Military Memorial Park in the city by the Sainik Welfare and Resettlement Department under the state Home Department. 

Yediyurappa described as a symbol of India's valour and sacrifices the Kargil Vijay Diwas, observed to commemorate its victory over Pakistan in the war that ended on July 26, 1999 with recapture of the territory in Kargil. He said the state government has given due compensation to the families of the Kargil martyrs and the soldiers who were injured.

Recalling the conflict, Yediyurappa said Pakistan had set its eyes on grabbing the vast terrains of Kargil and Drass sector in Jammu and Kashmir but the Indian soldiers successfully fought a deadly battle at a height of 17,000 feet where the temperature goes up to minus 30 degrees celsius.

"The sacrifices of our soldiers will remain etched in our memories forever. The tale of the 527 soldiers, who sacrificed their lives to save our country, is a constant source of inspiration for our youth," the Chief Minister said. He also noted Karnataka's contributions to the Indian army and said the state had given two Generals, one Field Marshall, many army officers and innumerable soldiers to protect the country's borders. 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.