Becoming the first delegate of the
Konkan Region would surely give you many good feelings. Could you share
a few?
No doubt, good feelings will always be
there when people congratulate you, when past pupils and my own classmates
express their sentiments and pride that one of them has been given this
honour, etc. The only good feeling that comes from within me, however,
is that I have been given a vantage place from where I can contribute to
the development of
the work of Don Bosco in this part of
the country. This is perhaps the only reason that made me say ‘yes’ to
this assignment.
How do you plan to go about with the
animation of the Konkan Region?
I plan to go about as the delegation chooses.
I plan to go about with them. I feel they too are people who can think
and suggest. We therefore, plan to work
together.
What do you think the confreres expect
from your leadership?
By and large, I get the feeling that the
confreres of the delegation expect me to be with them and to voice their
feelings and
needs. They feel that a lot of their work
has not been appreciated in the past while some of the destructive work
has received undue attention. This has dampened their spirits and in some
cases embittered them. They hope that at least now, circumstances will
change for the better.
What are your expectations from the
confreres of the Province and of the delegation?
I am what I am. The confreres have had
enough time to know me, and hope they will take me for what I am. I shall
do what I
can and don’t expect to do miracles.
What are your priorities for the delegation?
As a priority, we will be working towards
becoming a full-fledged province. The main targets to be kept before us
will be
vocations, expansion and finance, not
forgetting, a greater unity among confreres and a stronger family spirit
in our communities, which will occupy the front seat.
Among the three priorities mentioned above,
we are already concentrating on our vocation strategies, beginning
with a well established aspirantate in
the region.
What about new ventures?
New ventures and expansion, as we have
said above, is a priority that has to be kept in mind. ‘What’ expansion
is the problem. In the diocese of Goa it is a policy that nothing
new will be opened in the so called “Velhas conquistas” that is the South
of Goa (as it is already super-saturated with Catholic presence). If we
have to work there, it will be within the existing institutions. New ventures
in Goa will have to be in the “Novas conquistas” where the Catholic presence
is almost nil. Our expansion will therefore have to be more in Sindhudurg
and in the dioceses of Belgaum, Karwar and Mangalore. Some confreres
are already doing their homework there.
How do you view the prospects of vocations
in the new delegation?
Though many of us feel that we are chasing
a running bus after letting many go by, we feel there is still scope for
vocations.
We are confident of getting vocations
once our work is better organized. There is a lot of work to be done in
this field.
Do you foresee any difficulties/challenges
in this task of leading the new delegation?
Well! A life without challenges is hardly
worth living. There is however, a lot of enthusiasm from all the sides,
which is quite
encouraging. There will always be drawbacks
like the slow pace and the lack of modern means of communication in the
region, etc. There are also a lot of prejudices, hurt feelings and
suspicions in some confreres, which take a long time to heal. These hamper
enthusiasm and unity and consequently, work.
What will be the relationship between
the new delegation and the Mumbai Province as a whole?
The relationship, I think is well defined
in the statutes of the Region. We continue to be very much a part of the
Province and
as such there is no change in our relationships.
As, when a son or daughter prepares to get married and to break away from
the original home, parents are a little more generous to make things easy
and help them to tide over the initial problems, we expect the Mumbai Province
to do the same. Some problems in setting the criteria for the confreres
to belong to one side or other may come later.
As you step into a new phase in the
history of the Mumbai Province, what is your prayer and wish for this delegation?
My prayer and wish, as I hope it is of
everyone, is that the work of Don Bosco, which is so highly appreciated
in Goa and has been planted there at such cost, make a qualitative and
quantitative jump forward in this region. May the delegation soon
become a full-fledged province and a greater sign of Christ’s love for
the youth and the poor. |
