Archbishop of Goa and Daman Father Filipe Neri Ferrao has said that Constitution was in danger and many people are living in an atmosphere of insecurity.

In a letter addressed to Christians, he said the Constitution should be understood better as general elections are drawing closer.

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The Archbishop also said that human rights are under attack and democracy appears to be in peril.

The letter, issued in the beginning of Pastoral Year that lasts from June 1 to May 31, is addressed to Christians in the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman.

“Today, our Constitution is in danger (and that is) the reason why most of the people are living in insecurity,” the archbishop said.

“In this context, particularly as the general elections are fast approaching, we must strive to know our constitution better and work harder to protect it,” the letter stated.

The archbishop said that “in recent times, we see a new trend emerging in our country, which demands uniformity in what and how we eat, dress, live and even worship: a kind of mono-culturalism.”

“Human rights are under attack and democracy appears to be in peril,” Ferrao said, adding that “various minorities fear for their safety. In short, respect for law is frankly on the decline in this country.”

He said that people were being uprooted from their land and homes in the name of development and quoted Pope Francis who said that “the first victim of development is the poor person”.

“It is easier to trample upon the rights of the poor, because those who will raise their voice for them are very few,” he added.

The archbishop called for the participation of Catholics and Church communities in politics and social causes.

“Our parishes and small Christian communities ought to be immersed in this mission of the Church. They should be open to the problems of the world. This social concern should not only remain within the confines of the parish community but should reach out to the whole state and country at large,” Ferrao said in the letter.

He said that it was advisable that the faithful play an active role in the political field.

They should, however, follow the dictates of their conscience while doing so and shun “sycophantic” politics, he added.

“They should thus strengthen democracy and, on the other hand, help to improve the functioning of the state administration,” he said.

This is the third incident of an Archbishop writing letters in connection with elections, while exhorting the Christian community to understand the political climate of the country.

Notably, a major controversy had erupted after Archdiocese of Delhi, Archbishop Anil Couto, asking all churches in the national capital to hold special prayers ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

In May, Couto had stated in a letter that a “turbulent political atmosphere” posed a threat to India’s democratic principles and secular fabric.

In his letter to all parish priests and religious institutions in Delhi archdiocese, Couto had also appealed to the followers of his faith to launch a “prayer campaign” ahead of the 2019 general elections.

Couto had writen that India is going through an atmosphere which “poses a threat to the democratic principles” without specifically taking any names.

“We are witnessing a turbulent political atmosphere which poses a threat to the democratic principles enshrined in our constitution and the secular fabric of our nation,” said the letter marked to all parishes.

In November 2017, Gandhinagar Archbishop Thomas Macwan in a letter to the Bishops had written “The results of the Gujarat elections are significant and will influence the future course of our country. The secular and democratic fabric of our country is at stake. Human rights are violated and the constitutional rights are trampled. There is a growing sense of insecurity among the minorities, Other Backward Caste (OBC), Scheduled Caste (SC), poor et al. And nationalist forces are on the verge of taking over the country.”

In his letter he had written that nationalist parties are damaging the country. So we want to ask him how they are damaging the country. We have just called him up to give us an explanation for the writing of such a letter to the community.

In defence, Macwan had said that by referring to nationalist parties he meant all those people who are narrow minded in their thinking of nationalism. They are narrow minded in terms of language, caste, creed, religion, financial status.