By Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
 
Panaji, Jun 15: Goa Church has said that it does not indicate preferences for any political party during the elections and instead appeal the citizens to vote as per their conscience.
 
“According to the official statements issued by the Church before the elections, all citizens, including Catholics, are expected to vote according to their conscience.  The Church does not indicate any preference for any political party,” Diocesan Centre for Social Communications, Media, a wing of the Catholic church, said.
 
The Church was reacting to the media reports during the recent Lok Sabha polls which had quoted that the Catholic church was open for BJP and subsequent analysis by BJP which mentioned that it got good support amongst the minority community.
 
“All that it (Church) does is to recommend that voters use their discretion with regard to parties whose policies are in conflict with the ideals of national unity and communal harmony,” Centre says in a press note released here.
 
“Some recent reports and comments appearing in certain section of the local press have suggested that the Spokesman of the Archbishop has made misleading statements on behalf of the Church leadership in Goa on the occasion of the recently concluded elections to the Lok Sabha, making it necessary to issue this clarification,” it states.
 
The press release clarifies that the alleged statement that “Catholics are open to the BJP” was made in the course of an unsolicited telephonic interview which was given to a reporter of a national daily’s Goa Edition.
 
“It was meant to establish a fact and not to define a Church policy, a fact that was otherwise corroborated by the local press, which carried analytical articles indicating that Catholics have given, in some instances, a winning edge to BJP candidates,” the release adds.
 
Rubbishing another media criticism over the lack of reaction on Kandhamal issue, the Goa Church has said that it takes pride in stating that it topped the list of the Indian dioceses which sent monetary help to the said victims and was the only one which collected more than 99 thousand signatures, thus raising awareness among various entities, nationally and internationally; these and other measures were taken under the direct instructions of the Archbishop and coordinated mainly by the Council for Social Justice and Peace.