SIR,-1 was interested to read the letter of Mr. F. Correia-Afonso, M.A. (Oxon.), K.S.G., regarding "Thc Goa Problem" from the standpoint of "Goan Catholics" published in the issue of THE CATHOLIC HERALD, London, of September 17, 1954. None can dispute his statement that "Portugal seeks to exploit the attachment of Goan Catholics to their religion by posing as the champion of Christianity in India." And there cannot be two views on the subject. No self-respecting nation can contemplate a foreign-dominated enclave inside its territory with placidity. As Prime Minister Pandit Nehru has pithily described, it is a challenge to the conscience of the world. This is certainly not a religious question. Itis, therefore, extremely unfortunate that Foreign Missionaries -a former Patriarch of the East Indies, a former Vicar General of the Archbishopricdf Madras and the Archbishop of Goa-accept the official Portuguese line on the matter (vide issues of the London Catholic Herald of August 13, 1954, September 9, 1954, and September 17, 1954). By interjecting plausible religious Lags they completely fog the discussion with serious consequences to Foreign Missionaries in India. The only objection to Mr. CorreiaAfonso's otherwise fine and interesting letter is his remark that "Portuguese missionaries have practically been State functionaries; their object has been to turn Indians into Portuguese rather than Christians. . . ." To my mind, generalisations such as these arc unfair and even dangerous despite the fact that we are always prone to exaggeration, as any writer has to he, in these days of discouragement and frustration. A. C. Sequeira, M.A., LL.B., Advocate, Supreme Court Bangalore.
This subject is now closed.
Editor, CATHOLIC HERALD.