Rest in Peace Dear Roopesh Raj

.. This photo attracted my attention.

For, I know some of these persons in white cassocks.

They are all Jesuits...

Some of them I know personally and a few of them may know me, too..

One of them, Fr Andrew Fernandes, was in Loyala Hall, the Jesuit pre-novitiate at Miramar, in Panjim, Goa.. where I too had studied a few years earlier

When I went through the Hindustan Times article, the byline and the last line which mentions how the author can be contacted, my eyes turned misty.

The article was written by Roopesh Raj, News Editor of The Hindustan Times, last year.

Roopesh was my colleague in Times of India (Pune edition 1999-2005) and the Sakal-owned Maharashtra Herald (2004-05).

I vividly remember that day in Maharashtra Herald...19 April 2005, to be exact..

Pope Benedict XVI (the 16th..) was just elected at the conclave of cardinals in Vatican

Our News Editor Roopesh said to me " Camil, Why don't you speak to Jesuit Theologian Fr Joseph Neuner .. He's just turned 100 and resides at Sanjeevan Ashram, the Pune Jesuit Provinciate..''

I dialled Sanjeevan Ashram, spoke to Fr Neuner spoke and I got a front page anchor story.

"Pope Benedict, My friend'' says Fr Neuner''

Fr Neuner had worked along with the French theologian (now Pope Benedict) in 1960s when the Vatican Council II was held in Rome...

This was the first time I realised Roopesh Raj was also a Catholic like me ...

Last week, also realised that he too, like me , had dreamt of becoming a Jesuit priest..

Roopesh (49) breathed his last in Pune recently..

In this article, he talks of his alma matter, St Vincent School in Pune, and the Jesuits...

Rest in Peace Dear Roopesh..

....

By Roopesh Raj

https://www.hindustantimes.com/.../in-my-opinion-tribe-of...

Published on Oct 05, 2021

Caption

From left: Fr Anish K, principal of Loyola’s High School; Fr Andrew Fernandes and Fr Kenneth Misquitta, both former principals of St Vincent’s High School, and Fr Francis Patekar, current principal of St Vincent High School; all Jesuits in Pune. )

28Praveen Brahme, Somnath Kannar and 26 others

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Football loyalties divided between two Popes!

Football loyalties divided between Popes!
- CAMIL PARKHE Sakal Times Sunday, 13 July 2014 - 03:10 PM IST
Tags: football, FIFA, FIFA world cup 2014, Argentina, Germany, Pope Francis, Pope Benedict,Valerian D’Souza

Pune: With Argentina and Germany facing each other in the World Cup football finals on Sunday, Catholic fans across the world seem to be in a dilemma about which team to support. This is because, Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, hails from Argentina and his predecessor, Emeritus Pope Benedict, hails from Germany.
This queer dilemma has been brought to light by Pune’s Emeritus Bishop Valerian D’Souza on his Facebook page. Bishop Valerian, who has played football for his alma mater St Vincent’s High School, has said there is much speculation about whom Pope Francis and Pope Benedict will pray for when Argentina and Germany face each other in the finals.
“If they pray for their respective national teams, will that not put God in a quandary? There might be an urgent conference with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit to solve the problem,” writes the retired Bishop.
According to Bishop Valerian, numerous fans have been praying for the success of their favourite teams. “Did God answer their prayers? In sports, God is only interested in smooth and fair play. The prayers of Pope Francis, Pope Benedict, all sports loving cardinals, bishops and priests will lead to an excellent and thrilling match. May we feel at the end that there should be joint winners,” he said.
Emeritus Bishop D’Souza said that he has been watching all the matches. “However, I will not watch the finals in the wee hours. I will catch the replay later,” he said. 

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Bishop Thomas Dabre's interview

‘A true religion can’t be sectarian or divisive’

Sakal Times

http://www.sakaaltimes.com/SakaalTimesBeta/20111225/4666381285749178313.htm

Sunday, December 25, 2011 AT 06:22 PM (IST)

Tags: Q&A,   Bishop,   Thomas Dabre,   church,   Christians,   Pune

Bishop Thomas Dabre, who took over the reigns of  the 125-year-old Pune Diocese two-and-a-half years ago, is an exponent of inter-religious dialogue. He completed his doctorate on ‘The God experience of Tukaram' and taught at the city-based Jnana Deep Vidyapeeth for many years, till he was appointed as an auxiliary Bishop of Mumbai in 1990. As the head of the Pune Diocese, he symbolically leads various social service centres run by the Catholic Church in Pune, Satara, Solapur and Sangli districts, and Kolhapur city.  He spoke to Camil Parkhe about the need for communal harmony in the backdrop of Christmas.

 

What have been your priorities after taking over as Pune Bishop?

We feel that faith must flow into service and therefore, we have tried to increase our network of schools and colleges. Our diocese will soon open a new English school in Miraj and some new school buildings have also been planned. There are a sizeable number of educational institutions run by the Church in the city and district. The Church's schools educate children belonging to all faiths; in fact, a majority of the students in our schools are non-Christians. We try to provide quality education and also imbibe moral and spiritual values among children. These schools also ensure that there is no discrimination among students. Society has indeed appreciated the role of the Church's educational institutions.

 

How were you drawn to the issue of inter-faith dialogue and harmony?

My mother-tongue is Marathi and I was brought up in Vasai, in a locality that had a majority of non-Christian families. I was influenced by their lifestyle, social and religious traditions. I feel we should work towards communal harmony and peace, and it should be our top priority. Recently, the Diocese had invited a high-powered Vatican delegate to the city for a three-day inter-faith meet, attended by well-known representatives of Hinduism and other religions. Harmony among the people of various religions is required to ensure prevalence of equality, justice and peace in society. We believe that the unity and integrity of our nation depends on inter-religious and communal harmony. All our achievements and fruits of prosperity will be  reduced to ashes if there is no communal peace.

 

As a priest, I feel that Jesus Christ is not for Christians alone; he wants to work for the benefit of all religious communities. That is why all our educational, social, medical and charitable activities are open to members of all religions. A true religion cannot be sectarian and divisive; it is universal and that is why we have to be very serious about inter-religious harmony.

 

What is the role of the Indian Catholic Church in the world church?

The Indian Catholic Church is playing a significant role in the universal Catholic Church. Many Indian clergymen and nuns occupy vital positions in the church hierarchy and some of them even hold the highest posts, like the superior general or mother general of their respective religious congregations. For example, Fr Sebastian Vazhakala, the father general and co-founder along with Mother Teresa, of the Missionaries of Charity Contemplative Brothers, is based at the organisation’s headquarters in Rome. There are many Indian priests and nuns working in the USA, Europe and other parts of the world. In the past, India used to receive a large number of missionaries from European countries and now there is a reverse trend as Indian priests and nuns belonging to various congregations are called to serve in different parts of the world.

 

Tell us something about your recent meeting with Pope Benedict XVI?

It is mandatory  for all Catholic Bishops to meet the Pope individually and in groups once in five years. It is called an ad limina visit. There are 175 Bishops in India and the group-wise visits to the Vatican were arranged this year. I was among a group of 35 Bishops who met Pope Benedict XVI in September. The pontiff addressed us in a group and later also met us individually. During the individual  meeting, we present a report on various activities of our respective Diocese to the Pope, who is the the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. Thus, the ad limina visit helps the Pope to meet each and every head of the Diocese in any corner of the world and know their issues and problems. Our meeting with the Pope - group and individual sessions - lasted nearly two hours. The Pope has appreciated the Indian Church's work, especially in the field of education. This was my first interaction with Pope Benedict since he took over the reigns in April 2005, although I had two ad limina sessions with Pope John II .

 

What are your impressions of the two pontiffs?

I found Pope John Paul II a very contemplative person. In his later years, he liked to listen to the views of those he was meeting and spoke little. Pope Benedict is scholarly and very articulate in expressing his views. With a long administrative experience as a Vatican official, he knows the issues of the churches all over the world.

 

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