By C.M. Paul
Kolkata: Archbishop Emeritus Lucas Sirkar of Calcutta and founder of two religious institutes, died April 18. He was 84.
“Dear Confreres, this is to convey another sad news, that of the passing away of Most Rev. Lucas Sirkar SDB, Archbishop Emeritus of Archdiocese of Kolkata, at 1 pm on Sunday 18 April, 2021, at Aradhana Mandir, Krishnagar due to cardiac arrest,” says a message from Calcutta Salesian provincial secretary Father Jacob Iruppakaattu.
His funeral will take place at 10.am on April 20 at the Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer at Krishnagar.
He was born on September 24, 1936, at Barisal in Bangladesh. He was ordained a priest for the Salesian congregation on April 20, 1968. He was priest for 52 years and bishop for 36 years.
Archbishop Sirkar founded the Adoration Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Sadhan (prayerful or ascetic) Brothers.
He was the Metropolitan Archbishop of Calcutta from 2002 to 2012 and the bishop of Krishnagar from 1984 to 2000.
Pope John Paul 11 appointed him Coadjutor Archbishop of Calcutta on April 14, 2000. He succeeded Archbishop Henry Sebastian D’Souza of Calcutta who retired on April 2, 2002.
On February 23, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI accepted Archbishop Sirkar’s request for resignation, citing advanced age.
On retirement, Archbishop Sirkar spent several years as a priest and member of the Salesian community of Bandel Basilica ministering to pilgrims at historical Marian shrine of Our Lady of Happy Voyage.
In his last days, he retired to Mother House of the Adoration Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary that he founded in 1986 as the Krishnagar bishop.
The Adoration Brothers of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus was established in Krishnagar on June 11, 2012, when Archbishop Sirkar accepted five men as members.
The two congregations do not seek pontifical status as they were founded to serve the local Church. They are also designed to be self-supporting and would not rely on the diocese.
Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata once asked Bishop Sirkar to have religious engaged in Eucharistic adoration in each parish. The two congregations are his answer to her request.
The charism of these men aged 20 to 27 who call themselves Sadhan (prayerful or ascetic) Brothers is to pray and to work.
They work mainly in Krishnagar diocese comprising of Nadia and Murshidabad districts to train youths in vocational skills such as cattle-rearing, carpentry, farming, welding, pisciculture and driving.
With a spirituality of ”contemplation in action,” the congregation members spend three-and-half hours in daily prayer and Eucharistic adoration.
The following is the letter which the then Archbishop Lucas Sirkar wrote to Fr Franklin Menezes on 13th April 2011 in connection with the scam with the land of Mrs Maya Gomes:
To
Fr Franklin Menezes
Rector
Morning Star Regional Seminary
Barrackpore 700 120
24 Parganas (N), West Bengal.
Dear Fr. Franklin,
Peace and joy of Christ!
Sub: Calcutta Seed to resolve amicably the matter of contention over
the land property of Mrs Maya Gomes, Behala.
It is over two years after a meeting was called in Archbishop’s House, to have clear understanding regarding the Land Property of which the legal owner was Mrs Maya Gomes.
Mrs Maya Gomes emphatically declared that she had been duped thoroughly by the founders of Calcutta Seed. She declared that she had gifted her land to the Parish Priest of Behala for her particular intention as donor of her own land. Her land was cleverly registered in the name of the NGO, Calcutta Seed! She declared that her soul would not be at peace until such injustice be rectified. That was her demand.
Sometime after the meeting some report was heard that the matter did not lie between the Archdiocese and Calcutta Seed; rather it is still between Mrs Maya Gomes and Calcutta Seed which still requires to be settled. The land should first returned to Mrs Maya Gomes, who then should decide what to do with her land. The matter should not be delayed as Mrs Maya Gomes feels weak owing to her deteriorating age and weak eyesight.
This letter is a polite reminder to you to hasten Mrs Maya Gomes’ demand of justice. To wait for another period of six months may be too late to wait! Kindly do the needful soon; even before you take `Leave of Absence’, or by any other means most convenient.
With good wishes and assurance of prayers,
Yours ever in Christ
Sd/-
+Archbishop Lucas Sirkar, sdb
Archbishop of Calcutta
Copy to: Fr John Noronha, Bishop Monis, Fr I.P. Sarto, Fr Mohandas, Mrs Maya Gomes, Free Legal Aid Cell (Calcutta), Fr Hansel – Parish Priest Behala.
Incidentally, Calcutta SEED is an arm of Seva Kendra Kolkata, under the Directorship of Fr Franklin Menezes. Archbishop Thomas D’Souza of the Archdiocese of Calcutta has been the President of the Governing Body of Seva Kendra Calcutta since 2012.
Mrs Maya Gomes has left for her heavenly abode with a heavy heart having “been duped thoroughly by the founders of Calcutta Seed” all in the name of Seva!
Mr Isaac H Gomes has enlightened all with his skills in investigative journalism. Truth In the case of Late Archbishop Sircar is Truth. And should make us free. He personally went once to Behala on a property scam that belonged to Late Mrs Maya Gomes who had donated a small piece of land for the cause of poor n marginalised children of the parish for their education. Her name did not figure out in the Trust deed of ‘Seed’ an NGO type body that began to function as parallel to mainline administrative n financial system of the Archdiocese. In the investigative meeting of Archbishop Sircar Late Mrs Gomes cried bitterly and had said that ‘My soul will not rest in peace until the property donated to Behala Church under the Archdiocese of Calcutta to the Archdiocese with Donor’s name’. It was like widow’s mite grabbed by the powerful body of self run NGO – SEED. The general public is unaware of the inside story how the finances are managed. Who are the beneficiaries. Some of the Commissions in the diocese run without any funds. Therefore a call to transparency in important financial matters a must while the Church does proclamation on Kingdom values n in the process of ‘New Evangelization’. Let the Archdiocese move away from darkness to Light. Late Archbishop Sircar tried his best however he had no control over heavy structures that controlled the system.
Appreciate observations of Isaac Gomes
The above report on Archbishop Emeritus Lucas Sirkar does not give a comprehensive life sketch and his achievements first as Bishop of Krishnanagar and then as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Calcutta. It appears as if his contribution was only limited to the founding of the Adoration Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Sadhan (prayerful or ascetic) Brothers.
Archbishop Emeritus Lucas Sirkar must be remembered as one of the pioneers in bringing about financial accountability in parishes and institutions as is evident in his Circular No. ALS/040/11 dated 08 December 2011 where he wrote:
1. The VG, Dean or a representative of Finance Committee is to be present during the handing over the office.
2. An inventory of the parish / institution / office is to be made by the outgoing priest. This will include furniture, electrical fittings, crockery, cutlery, cooking utensils, vehicles, etc. The inventory will be checked by the new incumbent as he takes over.
3. Land documents, files (including minutes of meetings, newsletters, etc.) , registers, bank books, vehicles, previously audited statements, bills and documents connected with electricity, land tax, project files, papers relating to ongoing projects, should be listed and handed over to the new incumbent by the outgoing priest. It is preferable that the auditing of the accounts is done and a copy is given to the new incumbent and to the Financial Administrator of the Archdiocese and a copy is kept with the outgoing Parish Priest/ Priest-in-Charge/ Principal.
4. It is understood all claims from the Parish / institution will have been expressed and settled before incumbent leaves office. No claims from the incumbent after the handover may be entertained.
It appears Archbishop Emeritus’ above circular has been put in the cold storage. For it is not known how many parishes / institutions follow Archbishop Sirkar’s guidelines, considering that hardly any parish allows its accounts and Assets Register to be inspected by parishioners. Even today many parishes in the Archdiocese do not have a Parish Finance Committee (PFC). A few years ago the Parish Priest of Auxilium Parish Kolkata absconded without any handover (as indicated in the above circular) to then new incumbent Fr Robin Gomes. In the absence of Inventory, Assets Register, Property and Land Mapping of a parish and Annual Statement of Accounts to parishioners, there could be an emerging trend of a new parish priest starting with a clean slate – ZERO BALANCE! A properly constituted PFC, in ALL parishes, is one way to stem the rot. There must be greater representation of lay persons on Archdiocesan / Diocesan Finance Committee (DFC) which is 99.99% priests only. After all, all the churches run on Laity’s money meant to be used for the uplift of the Laity. How it is Laity is kept away from DFC?
In this connection, I refer to the erstwhile Loyola School Kolkata Principal Fr Rodney Borneo’s resignation (subsequently he left Priesthood) letter dated 05th March 2021 to the Archbishop of Calcutta. The excerpts read as follows:
“The audited accounts of the school reflect that the gross revenue of the school in my tenure has skyrocketed from Rs 3,11,34,608 (2015-16) to Rs 5,44,18,398 (2019-20). Your Grace, crores of rupees of Loyola school fee funds have been utilized during the pandemic period for construction of buildings elsewhere in West Bengal, transfer to church accounts, meeting various unrelated expenses and even investment in Mutual Funds.”
How this siphoning of funds was done, should be a matter of enquiry. Grapevine news is that non-Catholic business persons have taken a firm foothold of the Archbishop House. Fr Rodney being outspoken has taken a very courageous stand and has spoken out in the interest of the Laity. In fact he has now has become a very resourceful member of the Laity!
Archbishop Emeritus Lucas Sirkar was a great votary of the local culture, in keeping with the spirit of Inculturation. In one of the AGMs of Catholic Association of Bengal (established in 1911) he reiterated that the Association having been in Bengal for a century, must have a Bengali name incorporated in its logo. Unfortunately, the current breed of the powers-that-be lacks in this vision.