On Saturday, the 19th of this month in the evening, the TV Channels of Goa, in their respective News items broadcast a very important news which disgraced the fair image of Candolim and that of the Candolim Parish School/Higher Secondary School which is under the direct control of the Candolim Church authority which in turn is under the control of Bishop House, Panjim, Altinho. According to the telecast news broadcast, the President of NGO “Human Rights Defenders”, Mr. Edwin Fernandes speaking to the TV Channels, cited the case of molestation of a young girl student of St. Thresa’s Higher Secondary School, Candolim, by her own male teacher from Parra, Bardez, Goa.
According to Edwin Fernandes, the Church authorities starting from the Bishop are trying to squash this matter because the government machinery at the top level wants to protect the molester teacher who according to one source is very closely linked with the top ruling party machinery. Hence, the Candolim School management suppressed this news from the public domain thereby allowing the wrong doer to go scot free resulting in supporting the molester to molest more young girl students.
According to the information gathered, this incident took place in the school premises about a year ago but since nobody had courage including the local politicians to raise his voice on this incident, the NGO manned by Edwin Fernandes after getting information though belatedly but rightly took up this issue and finally put it into the hands of “Goa State Women Commission”. For further verification of the facts, Edwin Fernandes pushed an RTI which was accepted by the concerned principal but when pressure mounted to suppress this news, the principal refused to oblige.
According to some insiders in the school, the molester is a serial molester whose dirty habit was known to some in the School including the authority of Candolim Church that was running this institution but all of them closed their eyes thereby making the life of the girl students even of some female teachers vulnerable to the molester.
Overwhelming majority of the parents prefer Church run schools for their children because of the good discipline imparted there and moreover for the safety of their children especially of girls. But what has happened in Candolim at St. Thresa’s is very shocking leading the parents to lose their confidence in Church run schools. As the head of the Candolim Church, the Church Pe. Vigar should be held accountable for hiding this ugly incident from the public eyes especially from the parishioners and other students also to caution them of this molester. Simultaneously he should have complained to the authorities concerned about this molester so that he was immediately reprimanded from the job. Pe. Vigar should have also informed the parishioners from the Altar about this incident as he normally informs of so many other unimportant incidents regarding the School’s happenings. In one word Pe. Vigar made a big mistake by hiding this incident under his Cassock and I am sure Bishop is also a party to this hidden issue of the girl.
There is a Pastoral Parish Council and Somudai in Candolim but it is surprising even they kept their silence on this sad incident. Is it because the victim girl is a non-Christian? Would they keep quiet if the girl was a Catholic? And what made the parents and guardians of the girl to remain dormant or were they pressurized by the interested party?
It is sad that the Pe. Vigar of Candolim Church instead of promoting the truth in a pure Christian manner is suppressing the truth which is against the Christianity. He as per my information even told the students who were aware of this incident not to disclose to anyone. Moreover, as informed, the Bishop by suppressing this news also suppressed the truth. This is wrong on the part of Bishop who should in a true Christian manner have exposed the truth by exposing the molester. In view of this the female students and their parents are made to lose their confidence in the school management which is under the control of the Church. Molestation of students is like a HIV disease and it should be treated as such.
While concluding, I must say that all those who are involved in suppressing this crime are also a party to this criminal act of the molester who should be ashamed of what he did.
Candolim, Goa.
Tel:7507394349.