The fact that so many Catholics prefer laziness, inactivity and mediocrity to excellence, success, and reaching their full potentials should be more alarming. You want results Catholics? Then get off your lazy butts. Cast off your laziness and mediocrity and exchange it for diligence and excellence and awaken your Church from its spiritual slumber. Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead [lifeless faith], and Christ will shine on you.

The Maharashtra state not satisfied with acquiring the agricultural lands of the catholic natives in Bombay is now in the process of converting records in collectors office to prove that the catholic villages in Bombay are slums and catholics living there are land encroachers. An example is Sahar where catholic villages have been declared slums making it easier for the airport authorities to bulldoze these catholic villages.

Due to the stiff opposition to the Special Economic/Entertainment Zone from the catholics living in Gorai-Manori-Uttan region the Maharashtra state is now in the process of intimidating the catholics living there by allowing pagodas, garbage dumping grounds, etc to be set up in the gorai-manori-uttan region. The Maharashtra state is also not interested in protecting the lungs ( openspaces, mangroves, saltpanlands ) of Bombay.

The Bombay Muncipal Corporation has invented a system wherein catholics living in villages are prevented from demolishing their old dilapidated houses to construct a new structure. This has resulted in an acute housing problem in catholic villages. The BMC is also supplying less water to catholic villages in Bombay compared to the slums and housing societies that surround these villages. All this proves the anti-catholic agenda of BMC.

150 years back 80% of Bombay's population was catholic and the rest 20% were Kolis. Today only 5% of Bombay's population is catholic and most of these catholics live in penury because of the anti-catholic policies of the Maharashtra state and the Bombay Muncipal Corporation.

The Roman Catholic Church did nothing to help the catholic natives of Bombay. The Roman Catholic Church in Bombay has no political will, it only believes in numbers and head counts at the Sunday Mass.

Marriage certificates, baptism certificates, caste certificates issued by the roman catholic church in Bombay has no validity in Bombay municipal corporation, Courts or any government department in Bombay this proves the roman catholic church in Bombay does not have any political clout in Bombay. The Roman Catholic Church is also scarred to demand a quota in government jobs for bombay's catholic youth.

So this is it, the Catholic community, is a peaceful quiet community, controlled under duress, a few leaders but all rubber stamp type. The only fire and brimstone is during the sermons in the Church. Peace Marches happen, Candle light marches happen but majority of the catholics in Bombay live in penury.

After 1970 :-
1. The catholic clergy stopped utilizing vacant church properties for the housing needs of poor catholics and instead started selling away the vacant church properties to non-catholics. The parishioners are not informed of what the clergy do with the money received from sale of church properties. The vacant properties in possession of the catholic church in Bombay were donated in the past by poor old childless catholic couples.
2. The catholic missionaries stopped serving poor catholics and went to serve poor non-catholics living in slums.
3. Catholic hospitals stopped giving concessions to poor catholics and started giving concessions to poor non-catholics.
4. Catholic schools/colleges/institutions ignored poor catholics.

More info on Bombay's Catholic natives on below 2 sites:

www       east-indians      com

www    bombayland.blogspot      com

*replace the space in the link with a dot to get proper link

Inspite of all the Harassment, intimidations and strong arm tactics by the Maharashtra state, Bombay municipal corp, collectors office, politicians, mafia, builders & slumlords the Catholic Natives of Bombay have carried on with life because of their deep faith in Blessed Mother Mary and Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

-Marc Dsouza

A few days back, when i was busy cooking, I heard someone calling from outside the front door. I was a little irritated because the person had reached the main door of our house by already entering through the iron gate without even bothering to ask for any permission. When I came to the door I saw a smartly dressed, handsome-looking man, probably in his late forties, standing there with a pleasant smile.

My immediate thought was how to get rid of this person, as I was sure that he had come to ask for a contribution to something, or to donate to a cause.  He was carrying some booklets in a folder in his left hand, while a long cloth bag was hanging from his right shoulder. "Yes what is it?" I asked hurriedly.

Before I could say another word, he started talking in rapid English, which was a bit difficult for me to understand. He explained, "This is a kind of service, you could say we seek a donation, but I am not going to ask for any money. I would simply like you to donate some of your time to hear what I have to say". I was confused and at the same time concerned about the food that I had left cooking on the gas stove. I said impatiently, "Please, just tell me what is it you want to say, I really have no time to spare now, please understand".

The sympathetic manner in which I spoke to the man was even surprising to me because I normally tend to be rather abrupt with people who come to my door for marketing purposes with some lame excuse. I thought to myself, maybe I wanted to control my temper and behave in a more polite way, or perhaps I just wanted to extend the conversation because I liked his good looks and pleasant manners! Then I was more confused about what this man wanted to say. Perplexed, I looked into his eyes. Then he started, "I am from the Church.  I am here to spread the word of truth."

So NOW, I got the point. This was not new to me. I had seen and came across people like him throughout my life, as far back as I could remember. My mother used to get very upset and annoyed by people who went door to door on missionary services. She would not even allow us to talk to them, as she feared that they might "convert" us to Christianity. She would mercilessly chase them away despite their polite manners and kind words.

As a young girl, I did not like my mother's attitude towards those people. At some point in my youth, I started developing an interest in everything that related to Christians and Jesus. I believed Christians were more forward thinking and led a modern life compared to 'us' Hindus. I started liking Jesus simply for how he looked in images I saw of him.

As I grew up, I made new friends, some of whom were Christians.  As I had more chance to look closer into their lives, I became more fascinated by their religious beliefs and their church-going habits. I wanted to experience my perception of such pleasant church visits and hence started going to prayer meetings held on Sundays at various venues as well as to churches, without even knowing the difference between Catholics and Protestants. For me, all of them were Christians who believed in Christ, and I was happily enjoying myself in the midst of them, listening to the sermons and the preaching.

I even had an experience of a session of hypnosis in a prayer meeting, conducted by evangelists visiting from abroad. When the pastor called upon people to come forward to be relieved of all their sorrows, I went forward, while my Christian friend, not moving from his seat, watched me going towards the people on the podium.

A lady put her hand on my head and the next moment, I could faintly remember falling on the floor and lying down there for few minutes before I got up and made my way back to my place next to my friend.

I kept all my church and prayer meeting visits as secret as I could from my family, as I thought for sure they would panic, if they came to know about it.  But eventually it happened.  When my mother became aware of my interest towards the Christian faith, she made a big issue out of it and warned me not to continue with it. For me, it all seemed an unnecessary fear and I explained to my mother that I was not doing anything wrong, and tried my best to assure her that I would never allow myself to be converted into a Christian, and I really meant it.

And it happened once in a prayer meeting on Sunday that, after the services, when I went to have a few words with the pastor, he asked me with a pious smile, "So, when are you going to take your Baptism?" I smiled at him too, thinking for a moment and said, "I am not yet ready for that Pastor. Let me think and decide." Without trying to persuade me any further, he said, "All right, as you wish."

Although I liked and loved Christ very much, I had a somewhat rebellious mindset, feeling why should I have to become an "official" Christian to love and follow Jesus? Nevertheless, I increased my Bible reading and prayer activities to a regular basis, which was giving more worries to my mother and siblings. They were becoming concerned by the thought that I was moving away from the family and our "culture".

Watching me becoming more involved, they imagined that I had already been converted. Meanwhile I was trying to convince myself about the idea of baptism, but I could not come to a clear decision. I still had the question in my mind, "Would not Christ accept and love me, even if I don't convert?"  I spent a lot of time thinking.  I didn't want to hurt my loving mother, and didn't want to agonise my family any more.

Hence, I began to slowly reduce my "activities" which had worried them a lot. I decided not to 'convert'.  I stopped going to prayer meetings. I remained a Christian by liking Christ. I liked it that way. I thought, "Who should decide if I am a Christian or not?"  I didn't need anyone's permission to believe in Jesus. And those ideas are continuing in my mind till today.

So, I looked at the man on my doorstep now and I told him, "Please understand sir, I have no time to talk to you now, moreover, by identity I am a Hindu, yet I LOVE JESUS. I do it within my limitations as a Hindu. Don't try to persuade me. Let me go on with my work now, please". With an obvious disappointment on his face, he nodded quietly, and turned towards the gate.

For a second, I thought, I should not be so blunt to a believer who came to my doorstep to talk about the Lord. So said, "Excuse me Sir, if I agree to listen to you, would you try to finish it quickly? He turned back with a surprised expression and smile on his face and said, "Yes, of course!"

He started and finished whatever he had to convey in a very short time. In my mind, I appreciated him for his dedication and not wasting a mere opportunity to do something for his faith.

He took out some pamphlets from the folder he held in his hand and offered them to me. I took them while I had a thought in my mind. I did not waste time in informing him that I had something to tell him too. This time, he looked at me questioningly and said, "Yes madam, what is it?"

I told him briefly about my past experiences and ideas. He listened to me very attentively. He nodded thoughtfully. I could guess he was in deep thought. After few moments, he said, "Madam, your experiences are really interesting and meditative. I think I have to share this with my fellow believers, thanks for showing me an entirely different perspective of evaluating one's faith, May God Bless you".

He drank a glass of water I offered him, and turned to walk away. I stood there watching him leave, when he turned and said with a bright smile, "Keep your faith".

-Ushsara

Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, on Sunday sought to override divisions in his ruling coalition by pledging to fulfill a deep financial reform programme in Asia's third-largest economy.

He also signaled the "winding down" of fiscal stimulus measures next year. These have helped spare India from the worst of the global financial crisis with support to the rural economy, infrastructure and export sectors. Only last week, India's central bank began tightening monetary policy. The reform agenda includes developing long-term debt markets, a corporate bond market, strong insurance and pension sectors and futures markets. Government disinvestments in state-owned companies would be accelerated.

Mr. Singh told the World Economic Forum's meeting in New Delhi: "These issues will be addressed through gradual but steady progress in financial sector reforms to make the sector more competitive while ensuring an efficient regulatory and oversight system." His comments were seen as seeking to dispel investor anxiety over previously agreed financial reforms that have not yet been carried out. India's premier said his country was "better placed than any time in the recent past to push the reform process forward" after the Congress-led coalition's election victory in May.

Mr. Singh predicted that the economy would grow by 7 per cent next year if there was no repeat of this year's disappointing monsoon.

"We need to ensure that the financial system can provide the finance needed for our development, and especially for infrastructure development. This opens up a broad agenda for reform," he said.

Some senior bankers consider India's largely state-owned banking system as severely underdeveloped. Kalpana Morparia, the chief executive of banking group JP Morgan in India, described the reach of India's financial system as "appalling", with low numbers of bank account holders and stunted credit extension. She said India had a "long way to go" to reach its goal of 9 per cent economic growth and that it had to take steps to expand its financial sector.

Mention of insurance and pension reforms was omitted in a budget statement shortly after the election, and senior cabinet ministers have said consensus within the ruling coalition is lacking over the immediate reform agenda. The lack of progress has invited some commentators to warn that liberalisers Mr Singh and his close adviser Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of the powerful planning commission, are exceptions in a Congress party dominated by a leftwing rump who have the interests of India's large rural constituency at heart.

Mr Singh, who is widely credited for opening up India's economy in 1991 while finance minister, assured foreign investors that he was undeterred from modernizing India's economy and making it more welcome to foreign capital. He said the $121bn of foreign direct investment in India over the past eight years was "small", given the size of Asia's third-largest economy.

Paolo Martelli, the Asia director of the Washington-based International Finance Corporation, said Mr. Singh's measured approach showed India was beginning to opt for practical steps over ideology. Last week, the government made it mandatory for all profit making, listed, state-run companies to float at least a 10 per cent stake for sale to private investors.