When the Indian armed forces were about to liberate Goa, the Portuguese soldiers had started planting mines around important locations in Goa as orders had come from the Prime Minister of Portugal, Salazar not to surrender but to fight to the last man and to return Goa in ashes to the Government of India. At the risk of his life, the last Portuguese Archbishop-Patriarch, D. Jose Vieira de Alvernaz went to meet the last Governor General of Portuguese Manuel Antonio Vassalo e Silva and convinced him not to carry out the orders of Salazar. Accepting the advice of Archbishop-Patriarch, D. Jose Vieira de Alvernaz and convinced that he was doing the right thing, Governor General of Portuguese Vassalo e Silva is said to have thrown into the river the document with the order of the Portuguese dictator. All the present day citizens of Goa need to be grateful to the Catholic Church and in particular to the last Portuguese Archbishop-Patriarch, D. Jose Vieira de Alvernaz who played an key role in saving our beautiful Goa being turned into ashes fifty four years ago.
Today, we hear of Catholic MLAs of our state who refused to sign the memorandum on grievances of Church schools to be presented to the Chief Minister. One Catholic MLA even made a statement against the Church by saying “Sad to see Church schools mixing education with religion”. Some even criticised the decision of Archbishop-Patriarch Most Rev. Dr. Filipe Neri Ferrao for calling an emergency meeting of all the Catholic MLAs to seek help in resolving the educational crises pertaining to the Church schools.
After he left Goa, the last Governor General of Portuguese Manuel Antonio Vassalo e Silva did not take his asylum in any of the western countries, but went to Portugal and suffered humiliations and other punishments for the great heroic work of saving our beautiful Goa from being turned into ashes as the last Governor of Goa, Daman and Diu. But today, we hear of Catholic MLAs who prefer their party over the Catholic Church with the eye on the party ticket for the 2017 assembly elections.
Our former Chief Minister and the current Union Defense Minister, Manohar Parrikar while addressing the parents and students of Don Bosco High School Panjim on the Annual Day as a Chief Guest on 13th December 2012 looking towards the priests seated on stage said “If Don Bosco wants any help; you need not come to me. Just telephone me, I will come and the work will be done”. Manohar Bab even sought the blessings of Archbishop-Patriarch Most Rev. Dr. Filipe Neri Ferrao before leaving to take up his assignment as the Defense Minister of India in New Delhi. Even when Parrikar granted financial grants to the English medium schools he said he did so as he did not want the citizens of his state to fight among themselves and as he considered himself as the Chief Minister of Goa and not only of the BJP.
I am sure that our dear Archbishop-Patriarch Most Rev. Dr. Filipe Neri Ferrao did not have any hidden agenda like the politicians to topple the government or to insult our Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar. What the last Portuguese Archbishop-Patriarch, D. Jose Vieira de Alvernaz did fifty-four years ago to save Goa from being turned into ashes, the current Archbishop-Patriarch Most Rev. Dr. Filipe Neri Ferrao did a few days back by inviting the Catholic MLAs for an emergency meeting in good faith with the only agenda of solving the problems faced by the church schools with the only aim of empowering the future citizens of our State.
