Cardinal Ferrao calls voting a 'sacred duty’, urges faithful to put it before pilgrimage
The archbishop of Goa has called on Catholics to give up the weekly visit to the Marian shrine in Velankanni on 6 May to avoid missing voting set the following day in this part of India. On candidates, he stressed the importance of voting for “persons with secular credentials, who are truly committed to work for the good of all the people”.
Delhi (AsiaNews) – Card Filipe Neri Ferrao, archbishop of Goa and Daman, issued a statement in which he tells the faithful that it is a "sacred duty" and a "civic responsibility” to vote. Other Christian leaders did the same last week.
Starting this week and for almost two months, India will undertake an electoral marathon that will see the country choose the new members of the lower house of parliament (Lok Sabha), as well as the next government. In Goa, a costal state with two seats in the Lok Sabha, the election is set for 7 May.
To this end, the prelate makes an unusual appeal, urging the faithful not to take the train on 6 May for the pilgrimage to the Marian shrine of Velankanni since the railway service is only available once a week, and some pilgrims might not make it back in time to vote.
In his address to the people of the state, especially Catholics, the archbishop urges them to fulfil their duty and vote. He also asks priests, men and women religious, chaplains and superiors of religious institutes, both male and female, to hold special prayers on 3 and 5 May for the success of the vote.
Card Ferrao is also calling on Catholic voters to pick “persons with secular credentials, who are truly committed to work for the good of all the people and to uphold the values enshrined in our Constitution.”
Urging people to focus on their civic duty, in addition to voting and focusing on the candidates’ values, giving up the visit to Velankanni, an important Christian pilgrimage site in Tamil Nadu, the day before the vote, is a sensitive issue for the archbishop of Goa, especially since the eponymous state is an important place for Catholicism in India since Catholics make up about 25 per cent of the population.
Hundreds of people, Christians but also followers of other religions, use the weekly train that links Vasco da Gama, in Goa, to Velankanni, in Tamil Nadu, to visit the local basilica of "Our Lady of Good Health", the heart of local Marian devotion.
Card Ferrao notes that “there is a train from Goa to Velankanni every Monday, leaving Margao Station at 9.35 am. I earnestly appeal to Catholics to refrain from taking that train journey on Monday, May 6, and, instead, book their trip for any other Monday.”
To those who have already booked the trip, the cardinal says that "it is worth losing some money" cancelling “for the sake of the greater good and the sacred duty of exercising one’s franchise on the election day.”
The prelate’s words come in the wake of some news reports about a "conspiracy" by some political parties to prevent, or at least hinder, the vote of Catholics who make up a significant percentage in south Goa.
In this regard, the pilgrimage seems to most to be the "pretext" to prevent Christians from voting.
For Card Ferrao, “It is clear that Catholics moving out with family and friends on a holiday or even going on a pilgrimage on the election day, thereby abstaining from the responsibility of participating in the voting process on May 7, would be not only doing a disservice to the nation but also failing seriously in their important civic responsibility.”
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10/02/2020 14:31
