Media Release
Shivamogga, Mar 13: Veerabhadra Chennamalla Swamiji of Nidumamidi Mutt has called upon the people to be wary of reactionary forces that are trying to disturb peace and amity in society in the name of religion. Peace and compassion form the bedrock of every religion.
It was unfortunate that some extremist forces were trying to create rifts in society by misinterpreting religion, he said at the program held to mark the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of The Shimoga Multipurpose Social Service Society (SMSSS) on the premises of Sacred Heart Institutions on March 9, 2015. Christian missionaries have rendered commendable services to the fields of education and healthcare. Along with creating awareness, the religious heads should bring the people from marginalized sections of society to the mainstream, he said.
Oscar Fernandes, Member of Rajya Sabha, who inaugurated the program lauded the work of SMSSS and urged them to extend its services to a larger section of people. Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bengaluru who presided over the function emphatically conveyed that Christians do the service only with the love of God and humanity and without any ulterior motives.
‘Chaitanyashri’ award which is instituted by SMSSS and awarded every year to those who make remarkable contributions to promote social justice, communal harmony and social service was awarded this year to Veerabhadra Chennamalla Swamiji. This state level award comprised of a citation, trophy, shawl, garland and cash. Kimmane Ratnakar, minister for primary and secondary education inaugurated the ‘Vidyadeepa’ program and honoured Edmund Frank, the first donor of this project. Meritorious children from very poor families will be sponsored for their education under this program. K B Prasanna Kumar, the MLA of Shimoga handed over the silver jubilee houses to the beneficiaries. SMSSS constructed 100 houses for the shelterless on the occasion of its silver jubilee.
Fr Paul Moonjely, the assistant executive director of Caritas India, inaugurated the stalls put up by the women. The representatives of the donor agencies, Fr Paul Moonjely of Caritas India, Fr Peter Brank of KROSS, E Monis of Andheri Hilfe, Felix D’souza of FVTRS were felicitated on the occasion. 10 staff of SMSSS who have put in more than 15 years of service in the organization were also felicitated.
Sharada Pooryanaika, Shimoga rural MLA, Kalagodu Ratnakar, Shimoga zilla panchyath president, Mangala Annappa, mayor, Manjunath Bhandari, AICCC member, Thomas D’souza, president of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Fr Francis Serrao S J, the bishop of Shimoga, Fr Felix J Noronha, the vicar general, Fr Veeresh V Moras, the executive director of SMSSS were present. More than 15,000 delegates from SHGs, farmer clubs, various stake holders, elected members of various local self governance bodies etc also participated.
Prior to the concluding function on March 9, 2015 SMSSS celebrated its silver jubilee at three levels throughout the jubilee year.