BY A GT REPORTER
PANJIM: Commissioner for NRI Affairs, Eduardo Faleiro yesterday said, the existing law in Goa regulating relations between the Church and the state should be modified for the same reasons and to the same extent as done in Portugal.
He said, the present law was created by the “Concordata” or treaty signed between the Holy See (Vatican) and the Portuguese government in 1940 and enacted during Salazar's dictatorship. It had been repealed in Portugal on the grounds that it was unconstitutional and violative of the democratic constitution that came into force in Portugal in 1974, post-Salazar, he added.
Faleiro was delivering his presidential address at the conference on 'Should there be a law to protect the properties of the Church?' organised by All India Catholic Union (Goa State) and Goa Cultural and Social Centre at the Goa International Centre, Dona Paula.
Faleiro further said, the Church authorities in Portugal supported the repeal of the Concordata of 1940, which was also against the letter and spirit of the Vatican-II Council.
The Concordata of 1940 was then repealed and substituted by the Concordata of 2004. In furtherance of the Concordata of 2004, two joint committees had been created in Portugal consisting of representatives of the Church and of the government. One of the joint committees deals with the interpretation and proper execution of the Concordata.
Faleiro said the Legislative Assembly was competent to enact a new law as this is within the legislative powers granted to it by the concurrent list in the seventh schedule of the Indian Constitution. Such laws exist for other other major religions in the country such as the Hindu Endowments Act, the Wafk Board Act and the Sikh Gurudwara Act.
Faleiro, however added that, any such change in the laws should be done in prior consultation with Church authorities and with their co-operation.
Former Supreme Court Judge K T Thomas, in his key-note address said, the Sikh religion, which is one of the smallest religions (in membership) in India, had the “Sikh Gurudwara Act” to govern its properties. Muslims too had also trust properties, the administration of which is governed by the “Wakf Act” and under these legislations the activities were subject to judicial scrutiny, apart from public auditing.
