St Francis Xavier, patron of the small Indian state of Goa, a former Portuguese colony on India’s west coast, called St Francis
“Things are peaceful now and the Church has made its stand clear from our earlier (April 20) statement,” Father Barry Cardozo, director of social communications for the Archdiocese of Goa, told EWTN News on April 28.
Gautam Khattar, a viral Hindu YouTuber and founder of Hindu group Sanatan Mahasangh, made controversial remarks about St. Francis
As news of the controversial comments spread, the Catholic Church of Goa expressed its concern in a powerful statement on April 20, saying, “We unequivocally reject and condemn these harmful statements.”
The statement expressed “deep sorrow and anguish over the hateful and malicious comments made against St. Francis Xavier at a public function in the town of Vasco recently…affectionately known as Goicho Saib, a saint loved and revered by millions not only in Goa but across the world.”
In Konkani, the language of Goa, Goicho Saib – commonly spelled “Goencho Saib” in the English-language press – means “protector of Goa.”
Born in Spain in 1506, Jesuit co-founder Francis Xavier arrived in Goa in 1542, when the region was a Portuguese colony. Baptizing thousands in Goa and the southern coast of India, the missionary Xavier left for East Asia in 1549 and returned to India in 1551.
During his visit to China in 1552, he fell ill and died at the age of 46. After his buried body was found inert a year later, it was brought to Goa and preserved in a glass sarcophagus at the top of the side altar of the Basilica of Bom Jesus.
Every 10 years the sacred body is taken out for grand display and kept for public viewing for weeks in the nearby Se Cathedral during the Decennial Exhibition, where lakhs of people gather across Goa.
The Catholic Church reported, “Such divisive rhetoric, full of lies and venom, deeply hurts the sentiments of millions (hundreds of thousands) of Goans – regardless of the religion they profess – who hold St. Francis Xavier in the highest esteem. These statements have seriously hurt the religious sentiments of Catholics and risk disturbing the communal harmony we have long cherished.”
It called on “the authorities to take immediate, strong and exemplary action against those responsible for this hate speech, in accordance with the laws of the country.”
At the same time, the church “appealed to all to remain calm and exercise restraint. Let us preserve the peace and unity that have defined us for so long,” she said, adding that the saint’s “spirit of love and brotherhood may continue to guide us all toward greater unity and peace in these difficult times.”
Apology to the Christian community
Amid angry protesters marching to police stations and organizing huge protest rallies in all major centers of Goa, Khattar went underground, while the Hindu group that organized the meeting held a press conference the next day to apologize to the Christian community.
“We are apologizing to all our Christian brothers, with whom we are living like brothers. We never thought that Khattar would make such a statement and we had tried to stop him,” the organizers said in a statement.
Khattar, a self-described “spiritual beat journalist”, has been booked by the Goa Police under criminal sections for allegedly making “derogatory remarks” against St. Francis Xavier and “hurting religious sentiments”.
Cyril Fernandes, president of the Catholic Association of Goa, which filed the criminal complaint against Khattar, told EWTN News on April 29, “This was an attempt by Hindu fringe elements to polarize Goans on religious lines.”
Fernandes reiterated, “The people of Goa are united and this was manifested in the opposition by people of all religions joining in the protests. Hindus were never oppressed under the Portuguese, as these fringe groups claim.”
Christians, most of whom are Catholic, make up a quarter of Goa’s population of 1.5 million, the majority of whom are Hindu.
Joan Rebelo, a retired Catholic professor who joined the protests in Murgao, told EWTN News: “The protest was spontaneous and widespread. Even many Hindus joined the protests because they were hurt by the comments against the saint revered as the patron of Goa.”
Meanwhile, news reports quoting police said Khattar was admitted to hospital on April 28 after complaining of “uneasiness and high blood pressure”.
