TEAM HERALD
QUEPEM: Do parishioners have a right or power to restrain the construction of a church?
In a significant order which could have widespread ramification across parishes in the archdiocese of Goa and Daman, a Quepem Civil Judge (Junior Division) has recently ruled that ownership rights of all church properties dwell with the archbishop.
More importantly, Judge Aruna Fernandes also ruled that parishioners do not have the right or power to restrain the construction of a church, since church property belongs to the archdiocese of Goa and no individual rights have been conferred on any parishioner.
The order was given after Judge Fernandes dismissed a plaint by a group of five parishioners, who had objected to the proposed construction of a new and larger church, adjacent to the existing Holy Cross Church at Quepem.
In their case against the parish priest and Quepem church fabrica, the five aggrieved parishioners had contended that they enjoyed undisputed rights as parishioners of Holy Cross Church, Quepem, by virtue of their baptism.
According to them, the south Goa Collector had granted the sanad to the church fabrica on August 20, 2013, for the purpose of construction of a new church in the adjacent land.
The advocate for the plaintiffs argued that the land on which the new church was proposed to be built was located under institutional zone, which did not provide for the construction of the church.
The advocate also argued that the land for the proposed church is the only available space for parishioners who attend Mass to park their vehicles and hence, there could be a traffic jam along the road.
It was also argued that there was no need for another church to be constructed in close proximity and that, the funds could have been used to extend the existing church, since it is not a protected monument.
The advocate also referred to a letter from the Secretariat of the Fabrica/Cofres in the Archbishop’s House dated October 20, 2010, stating that the matter of construction/reconstruction of a new church is to be decided by the administrative committee of the church fabrica, after taking into confidence the parish council and other parishioners.
Hence, the plaintiffs claimed they had every right to raise their objection against the construction of a new church.
However, the advocate for the defendants argued that parishioners only have a religious obligation to practice and profess their faith and are not bestowed with any ownership rights in church properties.
After going through the arguments, Judge Fernandes noted that though the plaintiffs are parishioners of Holy Cross Church, Quepem, they had prima facie not produced any title documents to show that they had derived ownership rights to the properties of the Holy Cross church.
Admitting the validity of the letter from the Secretariat of the Fabrica/Cofres in the Archbishop’s House, Judge Fernandes, however, noted that the letter did not confer any ownership rights or powers to parishioners to restrain the construction of a new church.
The judge made it clear that the ownership rights of all church properties dwell with the archbishop. The judge also observed that provisions of Canon Law enabled the faithful to lawfully vindicate and defend their rights they enjoy in church before a competent ecclesiastical forum. Hence, the plaintiffs had an alternate remedy to address their grievance before a competent ecclesiastical forum.
Judge Fernandes also ruled that the property where the new church is proposed to be constructed belonged to the Archdiocese of Goa and that, no individual rights had been confirmed on any parishioners.
