Inquisition

W.J.Pais Food for Thought - Nuggets
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This is a personal introspection of the past by me, and I have used sources from the Wikipedia.

The Spanish and Portuguese inquisitions focused particularly on the issue of Jewish and Muslim converts to Catholicism, partly because due to temper of the times, they were suspect as danger to their government and partly because they were often considered suspect due to the assumption that they had secretly reverted to their previous religions.

The term Inquisition comes from  Latin "inquisitio", which referred to a court process that was based on Roman law, same as CBI inquiry in India.

The 1578  the Directorium Inquisitorum (a standard Inquisitorial manual) spelled out the purpose of inquisitorial penalties: "... for punishment does not take place primarily and per se for the correction and good of the person punished, but for the public good in order that others may become terrified and weaned away from the evils they would commit"

Except within the Papal States, the institution of the Inquisition was abolished in the early 19th century, after the Napoleonic Wars in Europe and after the Spanish American wars of independence in the Americas. The institution survived as part of the Roman Curia, but in 1908 was given the new name of "Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office". In 1965 it became the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Portugal and Spain in the late Middle Ages consisted largely of multicultural territories of Muslim and Jewish influence, reconquered from Islamic control.

In some parts of Spain towards the end of the 14th century, there was a wave of violent anti-Judaism, encouraged by the preaching of Ferrand Martinez, Archdeacon of Ecija. In the pogroms of June 1391 in Seville, hundreds of Jews were killed, and the synagogue was completely destroyed. The number of people killed was also high in other cities.

King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile established the Spanish Inquisition in 1478.

The Portuguese Inquisition formally started in Portugal in 1536 at the request of King João III. Manuel I had asked Pope Leo X for the installation of the Inquisition in 1515, but only after his death in 1521 did Pope Paul III acquiesce. At its head stood a Grande Inquisidor, or General Inquisitor, named by the Pope but selected by the Crown.

The Portuguese Inquisition principally targeted the Sephardic Jews, whom the state forced to convert to Christianity. Spain had expelled its Sephardic population in 1492; many of these Spanish Jews left Spain for Portugal but eventually were targeted there as well.

The Portuguese Inquisition expanded its scope of operations from Portugal to its colonial possessions, including Brazil, Cape Verde, and Goa.

The Goa Inquisition, an inquisition largely aimed at Catholic converts who were thought to have returned to their original ways, started in 1560, 8 years after the death of St. Francis Xavier who preached in Goa between 1542  till his death, though mostly he was out of Goa, yet some have imputed motives to him, regarding the Inquisition. A report of one Rao, and an article in Indian Express has alluded that the Goa Inquisition was proposed by St. Francis Xavier. who died in 1552 - [The insinuation is from one Rao, but not to be found in Wikipedia and the other from an article in Indian Express, also not found on the internet.   One should suspect a malafide insinuation in this assertion.]

Portuguese Inquisition acting in Portuguese India, and in the rest of the Portuguese Empire in Asia was established in 1560, briefly suppressed from 1774–1778, and finally abolished in 1820 throughout Portugese empire.

The Inquisition was established to punish apostate converts.

While its ostensible aim was to preserve the Catholic faith, the Inquisition was used as an tool of social control in their territory.

Most of the Goa Inquisition's records were destroyed after its abolition in 1820. It is impossible to know the exact number of those put on trial and the punishments they were prescribed.  This leads to biased and politically motivated initiatives in the time of the Internet which is a 20th century  phenomenon.  Especially after 2014, in a time of communal hatred and animosity, some percieved and promoted by partisan reporting and media influenced by the time.

According to Indo-Portuguese historian Teotonio R. de Souza, grave abuses were indeed practised in Goa. The inquisition was set as a tribunal, headed by a judge, sent to Goa from Portugal. The judge was answerable only to the General Counsel of the Lisbon Inquisition and handed down punishments as per the Standing Rules that governed that institution. The palace where the Inquisition was conducted was known to people as the fearful Big House. The Inquisition proceedings were secretive.   They have tried to present facts from the archives kept in Portugal, but in a time of fake news, everything is misconstrued.  One has to use his own judgement and the motivations and influences on the writers.   I for one, come from a family of two Goans who migrated to Mangalore in 1790s and there has be no talk of any ill feelings of their home state of Goa.  This family has been very well grounded in their faith and has given at least some priests and nuns is the 20th century.  Thus I have a feeling that the Inquisition may  have played a part, but there should have been a movement of Goans to the trading centers of the Portuguese on the Western and Eastern coasts of India.

St. Paul's College was a Jesuit school, and later college, founded circa 1542 by saint Francis Xavier, at Old Goa. It was once the main Jesuit institution in the whole of Asia. It housed the first printing press in India, having published the first books in 1556. The original building, however, was abandoned progressively after the outbreak of plague in 1578, and went into disuse as the college moved to new building known as the New College of Saint Paul.

In 1542 the first Jesuits arrived at India headed by Fr. Francis Xavier, co-founder of the new Society of Jesus. They were sent by King John III of Portugal to help on religious issues in the Portuguese Empire, under the Padroado agreement. In Goa, then capital of Portuguese India they established, at first temporarily, in the Seminary of the Holy Faith (Santa Fé) started by Miguel Vaz and Franciscan friar Diogo de Borba, under the patronage of governor Estevão da Gama in 1541.

Fr. Diogo da Borba - and his advisor Vicar General, Miguel Vaz are said to have said to have made plans for converting the Hindus. Under this plan Viceroy António de Noronha issued in 1566, an order applicable to the entire area under Portuguese rule:

I hereby order that in any area owned by my master, the king, nobody should construct a Hindu temple and such temples already constructed should not be repaired without my permission. If this order is transgressed, such temples shall be destroyed, and the goods in them shall be used to meet expenses of holy deeds, as punishment of such transgression."

In 1567, the campaign of destroying temples in Bardez met with "success". At the end of it, 300 Hindu temples (or Kuldevi structures) were destroyed. Enacting laws, prohibition was laid from 4 December 1567 on rituals of Hindu marriages, sacred thread wearing and cremation. All the persons above 15 years of age were compelled to listen to Christian preaching, failing which they were punished. In 1583, Hindu temples at Assolna and Cuncolim were destroyed through army action.

"The fathers of the Church forbade the Hindus under terrible penalties the use of their own sacred books, and prevented them from all exercise of their religion. They destroyed their temples, and so harassed and interfered with the people that they abandoned the city in large numbers, refusing to remain any longer in a place where they had no liberty, and were liable to imprisonment, torture and death if they worshipped after their own fashion the gods of their fathers." wrote Filippo Sassetti, who was in India from 1578 to 1588  -  [this could be the reason why many Saraswat and Gaouda Saraswat familes have lived in South Kanara]

Now this is about 425 years ago, and how far is trustworthy is any one's guess, but the amicable nature of the people who migrated to Mangalore does not bear any semblence of hatred betweem these communities, and in the 21st century they have intermarried and the story would have changed but for the contrived hatred that is being spread in the name of Hindutva.

It is said by one Kanchan Gupta in his article in Reiff in 1999, under  the title of "Recall the Goa Inquisition to stop the Church from crying foul" that in 1620, an order was passed to prohibit the Hindus from performing their marriage rituals.  Kanchan Gupta is a political analyst based at the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters in Delhi and editor of the party's official organ, BJP Today.

An order was issued in June 1684 for suppressing the Konkani language and making it compulsory to speak the Portuguese language. The law provided for dealing toughly with anyone using the local language. Following that law all the non-Christian cultural symbols and the books written in local languages were sought to be destroyed.[31source  not found]

Charles Dellon experienced firsthand the cruelty of the Inquisition's agents.[32] He published a book in 1687 describing his experiences in Goa.   Relation de l'Inquisition de Goa (The Inquisition of Goa).[32]  -  Compare this with the misinformation that is spread now around the world, so much so, some have made a special category and called it "Fake News"   What can we say about 425 years ago, when the European world was convulsed by religious wars and insecurity !

Persecution of Goan Catholics

The main object of the Inquisition was the eradication of heresy. Consequently, the authorities of the Inquisition also dealt severely with the converted Catholics who observed their former Hindu customs, than with the Hindus and Muslims. They declared that observance of former customs after conversion was un-Christian and heretical.  This may be a likely fall out, as in Mangalore, the marriage customs retained some of the traditional marriage practices which are common to Hindus all over the country.   We have roce,   and they have application of haldi and mehendi.  The clothing too might have been a point of contention, the bride would wear a skirt and blouse, called "kirgi basu" and north Indians were the Lehnga.  After the marriage they use Sado, a red saree, denoting married wife and similar  changes are there in other communities.  This could have been attributed to the misunderstandings that have cleared in 450 years, and to harp on the old grievances could only be for political gain.

Inquisitions were used by the Portuguese to prevent defection back to other faiths and had far-reaching implications.

People were renamed when they converted as they took the surname of their god fathers, and the converts who had farm labourers, took the surname of the land lord. 

Architecture changed with the Baroque style that was in vogue in Portugal becoming popular. Any different from the British buildings in Delhi and Calcutta ?   Or the architectural styles adopted by the Mogul rulers ? 

Thus, many customs were suppressed. Goans became "Westernised" to some degree as a Catholic elite who came to see themselves as a "cultivated branch of a global Portuguese civilisation" and after 450 years they are busy changing these names of streets and cities and going back to ancient times, on the one hand, and on the other, they want to make India into a Digitally savvy and this plague of double speak never stops.

Historian Severine Silva reasons that the fact that these Catholics who fled the Inquisition did not abandon their Christian faith was because they simply wanted to observe their traditional Hindu customs along with their newly adopted Catholic practices.[33]

These migrations laid the foundations for two distinct Konkani Catholic communities in Canara—the Karwari Catholics of North Canara and the Mangalorean Catholics of South Canara, respectively.

Suppression of Konkani

Alan Machado in his book Saraswati's children claims that in stark contrast to the Portuguese priests' earlier intense study of the Konkani language and its cultivation as a communication medium in their quest for converts during the previous century, under the Inquisition, xenophobic measures were adopted to isolate new converts from the non-Christian populations.  Even though this might have happened in Goa, the use of Konkani was was fostered by the migrant Goans in Mangalore even though they adopted many of the local language words in their vocabulary which itself shows the adaptabilty of these people. 

According to the Inquisitor António Amaral Coutinho's letter to the Portuguese monarch João V in 1731, these draconian measures of supressing the spoken language of the people did not meet with success.   Again Alan says,with the fall of the Province of the North (which included Bassein, Chaul and Salsette) to the Marathas in 1739, the Portuguese renewed their assault on Konkani.

Since India annexed Goa in 1961, Konkani has become the cement that binds all Goans across caste, religion and class; it is affectionately termed Konkani Mai (Mother Konkani) and in Mangalore it was called "Amchi Bas" - meaning our language.

In Mangalorean recipes I have recorded Diocese of Mangalore

Blessed Fr Joseph Vaz in 1681 mentioned the structure at Bolar serving as a church, then known as the Factory Church. The church was built by the Portuguese when they landed in Mangalore in 1568

The Portuguese under King Diego de Silveira won the battle at Mangalore on January 5, 1568, occupied the city and built factories and godowns for storage of spices. They built the fort of St Sebastian and also the church.

[The goans who worked there need not have been the ones who fled it for Inquisiton]

1623   Cathedral Church  -

Pietro della Valle, the Italian traveller who visited Mangalore in 1623 mentions  of the Holy Rosary at Bolar

1675 - Thomas de Castro

Pope Clement X appointed Thomas de Castro, a Theatine priest, as the Vicar Apostolic of Canara on 30th August 1675    The ancestors of many Mangalore Christians are Goans who were welcomed by the Hindu rulers of Bednore for their skill in agriculture. Others came to Mangalore to escape the trials of inquisition and also to avoid the constant raids of the Marata rulers.

1680   Milagres   Church, Hampankatta

Rev. Thomas de Castro in the year 1680 on the Inam land gifted by Queen Chennama and the Bednore King at the site of the present cemetery.

Padroado Conflict Schism    Instead, they appointed Fr. Joseph Vaz as the Vicar Forane of Canara and he was asked not to submit to Bishop Castro unless he showed the letter of appointment. Fr. Joseph Vaz was a saintly man, worked as a zealous missionary and he submitted to Bishop Castro. Bishop Thomas Castro as the Vicar Apostolic of Canara: The Portuguese supported the mission activity under the Padroado (Protectorate: privileges) in Canara

1756   Milagres Church Hampankatta

Fr Antony Pinto built a new church on the site of the present one in 1756 as the earlier church was too old.

1784  The Captivity (1784-1799) 

During the time of Tippu there were at least 27 Churches and a Seminary in Canara

Cathedral Church   Rosario Church was desecrated and destroyed by Tipu Sultan’s forces in 1784.

Milagres Church Hampankatta

On February 24, 1784, Ash Wednesday, the soldiers of Tipu Sultan destroyed the Milagres church, the stones of which were used by Tipu to erect the Idgah on Light House Hill, and took many Catholics as captives to Srirangapattana.

1799   End of Captivity

Amongst those who returned from the captivity was   Mr Lawrence Bello, a baker to the Europeans at Mangalore, who built a chapel on the site of the present church to replace the destroyed church.  Fr Jose Minguel Mendy served in this chapel as the parish priest.

1811 Milagres Church, Hampankatta

In 1811, Fr F.M. Mendez, the Vicar Vara laid the foundation for a spacious building.  The parish priest received a contribution of Rs 600/- from the government with the help of Salvadore Pinto, brother-in-law of Marianne Monteiro and former Munshi under Tipu, and built a new church. 100 years later in 1911, the façade of the church collapsed, and it was decided to demolish the whole building and raise a new one.

1813 Cathedral Church

After the Catholics returned from Srirangapattana from their captivity, they wanted to rebuild the church. The work started in 1813. The English government gave a grant of Rs 4,000/- to rebuild it and also to build the Milagres church.

1815  Most of the Churches were rebuilt.

UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE BISHOP OF VERAPOLY AND CRANGANORE

Msgr Bernadine, a Carmelite, as the Pro-Vicar Apostolic of Mangalore. After him, Bp Michel Antony and Bp Mary Ephrem looked after the spiritual well-being of Mangalore Catholics. All the three Bishops gave special attention in training the local clergy.

Bishop Mary Ephrem

Mary Ephrem was instrumental in bringing the Cloistered Carmel at Kankanady and the Tertiaries (Apostolic Carmel sisters) to Mangalore. Mangalore under the Verapoly Carmelities:

1849 Milagres School. 

Fr Pius Noronha started a primary school in 1849.

1850  Rosario Cathedral

On April 16, 1850, the church was raised to the rank of a Cathedral. Rev. Fr Urban Stein sj, a German, was the first parish priest of the Cathedral (1845–1888).

1865    Urva Parish

Carved out of the Cathedral Parish.

1858 - Rosario School, Bolar

In 1858, Christian (De-la-Salle) Brothers started St Mary’s School later known as Rosario School which is now a Pre-University College

1859  -  St. Ann's Girls School, Bolar

The Sisters of St Joseph opened a school for girls in 1859 at St Ann’s grounds.  When this congregation shifted to Cannanore, the Apostolic Carmelite Sisters took-over the charge of the school and the place.   In the early 1900s my mother and her sister studied in this school

1878 - The diocese is placed under the Jesuit Mission

Italian Jesuits arrive in Mangalore. Rome studied the situation and handed over the Mangalore mission to the Jesuits of Naples who reached Mangalore on 31st December 1878 under the leadership of Msgr Nicholas Pagani. Two more Jesuits from Bombay joined the original group of six among whom Bishop Pagani, Rev Augustus Muller, Rev Angelo Maffei and Rev Urban Stein are famous. Jesuits in Mangalore

1880  St. Aloysius School

Upper Secondary School meant to prepare students for the Matriculation Examination. Functioning in a single building, it counted on the opening (January 12, 1880) a hundred and fifty students on its rolls and just two teachers (Fr. Jos Willy s.j. and Scholastic Postlewhite s.j.) on its staff

1885 - Monsignor Nicholas Pagani s.j.

On October or November 25, 1885, Msgr Nicholas Maria Pagani was consecrated as Bishop at Cathedral .  St Joseph's Seminary, St Aloysius College, Fr Muller's Hospital, St Joseph's Workshop, Codialbail Press and orphanages were established by him

1880 - 1930 Mr. John Manuel Castelino, the father of my mother,  was the head master of this School.  Later he founded the Cathllic Bank, Catholic Club and Roman Catholic Provident Fund  and was generally known as Castilen Mistry, under whom many priests and men were educated and they fondly remembered him.  He died in 1945.

1887 - The Diocese of Mangalore

January 25, 1887, Mangalore was declared an independent diocese,  Until now, it was under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Verapoly.   St. Joseph's Seminary was Inter Diocesan, training the priests of other dioceses besides Mangalore.

1888 - Kulur Parish, carved out of Cathedral Parish.

1907  - Milargres School added more classes up to III form, - 8th Standard.

1908  - St. Aloysius School

In the twenty-eighth year, it came to have a Primary Section tagged on to its Middle School Department.

1910 Cathedral Church

In 1910, Rev. Fr H.I. Buzzoni sj,  the  parish priest, demolished the structure of the old Cathedral and  commenced the work  of erecting  the present day spacious and beautiful church worthy of the status of a Cathedral.  Bro. Divo sj was the architect of the Cathedral. This is the only church in the diocese with a magnificent dome crowning the spacious sanctuary. The Cross on the dome of the Cathedral was lit every night serving as a beacon to the sea-farers

The mortal remains of Rt Rev. Mary Ephrem, the last vicar Apostolic before the erection of the Mangalaore Diocese and the Rt Rev. Bishop Nicholas Maria Pagani sj, were interred in this cathedral.  The mortal remains of Bishop Basil S. D’Souza were also interred in this Cathedral in 1996.

1910 - Bishop Paul Perini, s.j.

Bishop Paul Perini sj, the  second and last Jesuit Bishop, was consecrated on December 4, 1910

1911 Milagres Church Hampankatta

Fr S. Frank Pereira erected the present magnificent church in 1911, with Fr Diamanti sj of the  Jeppu Seminary  as its architect.

1914 - Bendore Parish - Carved out of Cathedral Parish

1923 - First Indian Bishop

Pope Pius XI divided the Diocese in 1923 and appointed Fr Valerian D'Souza, one trained in St Joseph's Seminary, as the first native Bishop on February 28, 1928.

1924 Cathedral Parish

The main altar was consecrated by Bishop Perini on April 3, 1924 when he was the Administrator Apostolic. Fr H.I. Buzzoni also erected  a belfry tower and installed four  bells imported from Italy.

1931 - Bishop Victor R. Fernandes

Born 1881. Ordained priest 1910.  Primary education and Sunday Catechism   were his highest priorities.  Data: (16 May 1931 Appointed - 4 Jan 1956 Died)

Bishop Fernandes founded the diocesan communities of Olivet Brothers for men and, Ursulines, Bethany Sisters for girls.

1934 - I was born in Catholic Bank Building, now demolished, in front of Milagres Church, Hampankatta. Baptised in the same church, and received first communion and confirmation too, in the same church.

1935 - Cascia Parish, carved out of Cathedral Parish

1940 - 19748  studied in Milagres School, Hampankatta.

1944 Milagres School

In 1944 Fr Francis Pinto added a new building

1949 - Milagres School was upgraded to High School

1955 Bishop Basil Peris

1956 appointed. 1958 died.

1956 Milagres Church Hampankatta

The spacious portico was added in 1956 by Fr Albert V. D’Souza, later the Archbishop of Calcutta. The main altar has the privileged status, Altare Privilegiatum.

1958 Bishop Raymond D'Mello

Born 1907 in Kirem, Ordained: 1937. 1959 ordained as Bishop of Mangalore 1964 Appointed Bishop of Allahabad Died in 1971.

1959  Bishop Basil D'Souza

Born in Bondel in 1926. Ordained a priest in 1952. Ordained a Bishop in 1965. Died 1996

1980 St. Aloysius School

Now, in the centenary year, the world of St Aloysius College includes in its grand sweep a First Grade Day College, a First Grade Evening College, a High School, an Evening High School, a Higher Primary School (or Middle School) and a College of Business Administration. Having nineteen buildings of its own (including among others the Centenary Commemoration Building the College Students' Recreation Centre, the old Academy Hall, the College Auditorium, two workshops, the buildings served as Staff Quarters for a good number of the College teachers, three blocks of the former "Down College" providing residential accommodation for quite a few Middle School teachers and other employees, the three hostels and the former Boarding House where the vocationalised courses are currently held) the College now counts 4,591 students on the rolls of the several institutions in its fold (as against the original number of 150 students) and 148 teachers (as against the original number of two teachers)!

1982 Milagres School

Upgraded as the P.U.College on 1982.

1996 Bishop Aloysius D'Souza

Becomes Bishop of Mangalore. Born in 1941 in Agrar and ordained priest in 1966 and Ordained bishop in 1996

2004 St. Aloysius School

125th anniversary of the founding

It is ironic we read about the past and produce the statements of people who rely on others, whereas Donald Trump could not prove the Rusian involvement even within a reasonable span of time, and we gloat about the latest technology and super human wisdom.  When has misunderstanding and misinformation disappeard  as a tool of political gimmicry ?  

As a people living with classmates of all faiths have we ever sensed this aliniation which is promoted as a politcal strategy.  How easily the same could have been done in Europe as well 600 to 500 years ago.  You had a Machiavelli then !

Let us all start fresh again, as human beings have good as well as bad in them, and over the span of life lot can change.  Help in producing this change for the better, let better days truly come not from above, but from below.  From the grass roots.

 

Here is a current double speak example in Syria a hot bed of international rivalries.  Israel does  not like Syria, so demands their allies to do their bidlding, but does not appear in the limelight.  Those who are familiar and lived in the middle east, know the history of the past 100 years. 

From 2011 this war has been going on and the culprits are hiding behind veils.  This has been a record of humans from the beginning of creation, battle of Good against Evil, and always the latter loses in the end.

 

For further enlightenment, read this article.

Find for yourself, how good you are at investigative work and analyze who is telling the truth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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