By Matters India Reporter

Panaji: The social action wing of the Goa archdiocese says anonymous anti-Church video clips circulating on social media are attempts to divert public attention from government’s wrong policies.

The video clips are “devious and feeble attempts by vested interests to target the Church in order to deviate public attention from pressing and contentious issues and policies which have unified people across Goa in expressing their legitimate concerns,” says an April 29 press note from the Council for Social Justice and Peace (CSJP).

Father Savio Fernandes, the council’s executive secretary who issued the press note, says “the vested elements” are “frustrated and upset” over the CSJP’s support to people resenting policies of departments such as Planning and Development Authorities (PDAs), Outline Development Plans (ODPs) and the regional plan.

Earlier on April 25, the Aam Admi Party (AAP, common man’s party) complained to police about the video that it alleged showed the Church in a poor light.

The party alleged the video was created to attack the Church in Goa.

Party leader Valmiki Naik said the video’s purported aimed at inciting communal passions and promoting enmity between communities. He appealed to the police to track the source through its cyber cell and prosecute the offenders. “This will send a strong message that communalism and incitement of hatred has no place in a society like Goa.”

The video alleged that the Church opposes all developmental projects in Goa which is now ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party. It also accused Archbishop Filipe Neri of Goa and Daman of selling 45 acres of Vanxim island for “a petty” 5.5 million rupees.

“All over the world Churches are subjected to the law of the state. Yet in India there is no government over-sight of Church administration,” the video alleged.

It also accuses the Goa Church of involvement in “dubious land deals.”

Father Fernandes asserted that the Church is “inherently apolitical in nature and does not support or reject any particular party,” in responding to allegations in one video that the Church has struck a secret deal with a political party.

“The CSJP does and should exercise its right and responsibility to question the policies of the government which go counter to the genuine interests of the people,” the priest asserted.

The council also noted that the videos were released just ahead of a public meeting in Margao on April 27 to confuse and mislead people, “cast aspersions on the Church and its policies, resort to allegations and to take instances and events out of context.”

The press note said the council was in the process of ascertaining the anti-Church allegations.