Religions must unite, not divide: Church

BELAGAVI: On Sunday mornings, when they are not working in the fields that surround Deshnur, around 200 of the village's 12,000 people go to Snanika Arulappanavara Virakta Mutt , a one-of-a-kind shrine where they attend mass that a Catholic priest holds in Kannada.Yet, not a single inhabitant of the village is Christian. Within the imposing building of large stone blocks, also known as the Church of St John the Baptist, is a tabernacle in the form of a Shiva linga - a reminder that it once was a Lingayat mutt The Jesuit priest who conducts mass and runs the church, Menino Gonsalves, introduces himself as Sri Menino Swamy. He wears saffron robes and a rudraksha mala as his congregation worships Jesus and Mary in Lingayat style, burning camphor and agarbattis and with vibhuti smeared on their foreheads.Since its establishment as a church in 1947, five Christian priests have served in the shrine, said Sri Menino. "We all adopted Hindu names," he said. "Our founding father, Armado Alvares, called himself Sri Animananda Swamy. Father Sebastien became Swami Arulananda."All the Jesuit priests who have served at thechurch became vegetarians and wore rudraksha malas, he said. Sri Menino sees no incongruity in the mingling of Hindu and Christian elements in the mutt. It is an experiment in social integration, Sri Menino said. Prelates of the Catholic Church described the shrine as an example of assimilation of local culture.Sri Menino, who has been in charge of the church for 11 years, dismissed as an "unnecessary controversy" the uproar on social media about alleged conversions at the shrine, triggered by photographs of Belgaum Bishop Derek Fernandes wearing saffron robes and with a tilak on his forehead during a recent visit to the village."Some people have made baseless allegations that I engage in conversion," he said. "The village does not have a single Catholic family, even though the church has been functioning there for more than 70 years." People in the village, 28km from Belagavi, also refuted the charges. "I've been associated with the church for 49 years and I am a Hindu. I've never witnessed any activity by the priests that could hurt Hindu sentiments," said gram panchayat president Deepak Patil.Religions must unite, not divide: ChurchReacting to the row over Belgaum Bishop Derek Fernandes’ visit to Snanika Arulappanavara Virakta Mutt in Deshnur, which TOI reported on Sept 13 (Furore over Belgaum bishop’s saffron robe), S Joseph Jayanathan, secretary of Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops Council, on Sunday said the issue had been blown out of proportion. “Neither Fernandes nor the priests at Deshnur shrine have any ulterior motive in wearing saffron robes and beads. They only do it to promote local tradition and culture. Their intention is not to evangelise, but to adapt themselves to the lifestyle of people around them. Religions must unite, not divide us,” Jayanathan said.