PANJIM: Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao has expressed solidarity with the Missionaries of Charity on the issue of their application for renewal of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act registration being rejected.
In his New Year message, he said, “It is fitting to recall the stressful difficulties and challenges that the Sisters of the much revered Mother Teresa have been facing in our country in recent times, while carrying out their mission of heroic service to the last, the least and the lost.”
He added, “As citizens of this country, it is our responsibility to extend our wholehearted support and generous help to these Sisters, so that their noble service to the most neglected of the society can continue without undue hurdles. I have no doubt that all men and women of good will who are concerned about the plight of our less fortunate brothers and sisters will come forward and reach out to the Missionaries of Charity and to the thousands under their care who are facing an extremely difficult situation.”
Greeting the people on the New Year, Ferrao, said he prays that the “Almighty may shower His choicest blessings upon our beloved land and the world at large, so that all of us may rededicate ourselves to the construction of a society where mutual respect, religious tolerance and concern for the underprivileged may be found in abundant measure.”
He also said that in keeping with the teaching of Jesus Christ, concern for the poor has been one of the main thrusts in the life of the Church in Goa. “This concern is being promoted primarily through Caritas-Goa, which is celebrating this year its Diamond Jubilee, the Good Samaritan Fund in our parishes, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and the Missionaries of Charity, who are rendering an outstanding service to the poorest of the poor through their four houses in our Archdiocese,” he said.
