O Bishop, Where Art Thou? Cordel Parishioners Still Seeking a Settlement

O Bishop, Where Art Thou? Cordel Parishioners Still Seeking a Settlement

Faithful of Holy Cross Church- Cordel/Kulshekar are on their sixth Thursday Candlelight Vigil protest at the Bishop’s House urging Mangaluru Diocese Bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza to Give Back Church Money Swindled by Former Cordel Parish Priest Fr Valerian Pinto (Also click on the links to three other stories at the end of this article to retrieve more details on this issue)

Mangaluru: January 26, has been the sixth Thursday in a row that the angry parishioners of Holy Cross Church-Cordel/Kulshekar have been holding a unique candlelight protest in front of the Bishop’s House-Kdialbail urging the Bishop of Mangaluru Diocese, Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza to recover more than Rs 5 crore swindled by Holy Cross church former parish priest Fr Valerian Pinto between May 2008 and May 2015. For the last few Thursdays, nearly 50 parishioners of Cordel have been taking part in the prayer service by wearing black T-shirts, along with other devotees between 6 pm and 7 pm and singing hymns outside the Bishop’s House with lit candles. Even though they want to meet the Bishop personally, but the Bishop has been avoiding them. But why? A priest has swindled the money, and it is the responsibility of the Head of the Diocese to solve this issue and come out with a proper solution. But sadly, that’s not been happening till now.

Praveen Patrao, former V President of the Cordel Church Parish Council speaking to Team Mangalorean said, “Our protest will not end until justice is served- we will continue this candlelight vigil protest until a week before lent, probably the last week of February. The cheque of Rs 4,89,000 issued to us as part of the swindled money by Fr Valerian Pinto has bounced thrice, and that money is still not been settled. We have filed a case against the priest for issuing a non-sufficient funds cheque. Our Bishop is trying to stay out this issue, even though he is the head of the diocese and should settle this problem soon.”

“According to Bishop, where he states that he has received a statement from Vatican-Rome that Fr Valerian has accused him of wrongdoing, and also that the Vatican has requested him not to involve in this issue in future. Since we were not happy with our Bishop’s statement, we asked him to show the Vatican letter, which the Bishop is reluctant to do so. However, when Fr Valerian himself has given apology six months ago, why is the bishop not taking any action against the priest. “If the Vatican has prevented the Bishop from taking action against the priest, let him (Bishop) reveal it. So until we get justice and all our Church money which was swindled by the Fr Valerian is recovered, we will continue our protest. We will take a break during the Lent season, and if we still don’t get a positive reply/settlement by then, we will intensify our protest in a different manner,” said Praveen.

Recalling the reports pertaining to this issue published in Mangalorean.com ‘Bishop & Diocese should Sleuth into Church Funds Scam by Fr V Pinto’- Parish Council VP Patrao dated June 5, 2015, alleging that crores of rupees were swindled by the then parish priest while implementing twenty-one projects during his tenure in the church. The projects included renovation of church, cemetery and park among others. Subsequently, Bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza had set up an inquiry commission headed by Bendur Parish Priest Fr Antony Serrao with members Fr Valerian D’Souza (parish priest of Milagres church), Fr Joseph Martis (Rector of St Joseph Seminary and consultor to bishop), Fr Vincent Monteiro (consultor to bishop) and Fr William Menezes (PRO of the diocese).

On the other hand, Finance Committee of Cordel church appointed a fact-finding committee comprising Bank of Maharashtra former chairman and managing director Allen C Pereira, KCCI former president Capt John Prasad Menezes, St Aloysius College PG Dean Prof Edmond Frank, St Aloysius College former dean Prof Rolphie Mascarenhas and Ladies Club Chairperson Wilma Pais among others. Quite interestingly, both the committees unearthed misappropriation to the tune of over Rs 5 crore. It is learnt that the former Parish priest had diverted the church funds to purchase land and had also transferred the funds to few individuals.

As per a Church member, Fr Valerian Pinto in a handwritten letter dated May 30, 2016, to the Bishop, claimed that he himself is solely responsible for the misappropriation. He even gave a cheque for Rs 4,89,000 which was not honoured due to insufficient funds. (Subsequently, a criminal case has been filed at Mangaluru court). Later, much to the embarrassment of the Bishop, Fr Valerian Pinto made a U-turn and wrote to the Vatican (Rome) alleging that the Bishop is part of misappropriation. When queried, the Bishop said that though the priest had voluntarily given a letter of apology and offered to pay back the money according to his means, later on, he changed his stand and started saying that the apology was forced on him.

Sources also reveal that Fr Valerian Pinto changed his stand saying that apology was forced on him, he has started challenging Bishop’s authority and refused to cooperate with the Bishop in settling this issue, and in the meantime, the Bishop said that he is awaiting a reply from the Vatican. But in the meantime, with no other options, the parishioners had to resort to silent protest as they have already explored all the possibilities and silent, but a dignified protest was the last resort. But sadly, the older and middle-aged parishioners say that they are not supported by the young parishioners in the protest and most of them hold a high position in society. These parishioners have decided to hold more such candlelit protests every Thursday, and if they don’t get a response from the Bishop, they will be submitting the report of the protests and their demands to the concerned authorities in Rome, probably by this month end.

I had mentioned in my last report, and I want to say it again, It is important to be a wise steward of your donations so they are used most effectively. This is not an easy assignment. Most of you reading this won’t have the same problem in finding out how to responsibly distribute your hard earned money, but whatever you donate, make sure that the funds are being used wisely. You never know, you may witness many corrupt, evil, deceptive, & UNHEALTHY things may go on in your church. The truth comes out when someone spills the beans or the concerned church authorities are caught red handed. I believe that those blessed must return to the neediest, several fold. Or we will have to keep quiet and pardon some of these clergies, and follow what Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” But remember to Tithe wisely!

Also Read Related Articles Below:

• Why Bishop is NOT Obliging Cordel Parishioners Demands

• Mangaluru: ‘Bishop and Diocese should Sleuth into Church Funds Scam by Fr V Pinto’- Parish Council VP Patrao

• Thou Shalt Not Steal! ‘Parish Priest Scammed Over Rs 1 Crore of Church Funds’ say Faithful