Archbishop’s remarks ‘not against any party’

Panaji, June 5

After Archbishop of Goa and Daman Father Filipe Neri Ferrao said that the “Constitution was in danger”, his office on Tuesday suggested he was expressing his “anxiety to his own people” but insisted the remarks were not against any political party or government.

Ferrao’s secretary Fr Joaquim Loila Pereira said the people should read the entire 15-page letter and not “take this statement or that statement out of context and make it look as if the letter is against political parties”.

The Archbishop, in a letter issued on Sunday and addressed to Christians in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman, said: “Today, our Constitution is in danger (and that is) the reason why most of the people are living in insecurity.”

In the letter, generally issued in the beginning of pastoral year that lasts from June 1 to May 31, he said the Constitution should be understood better as general elections are drawing closer.

“First of all, there is no name of any political party, there is no name of any government. There is a commentary on what is happening in India and in Goa,” said the Archbishop’s secretary today. He said the Archbishop’s letter was not a political commentary on what was happening in the country.

“The fact is that he (Archbishop) has said there is danger to the Constitution, but if you read what he has elaborated, you can make out that it is not all the danger,” Pereira maintained. — PTI