Priest reconverts amid Vedic chants

[Guest guest]

Priest reconverts amid Vedic chants

Sat, 21 Apr 2001 08:00:01

 

 

 

 

 

>"Ashok Chowgule"

>"Ashok Chowgule"

>To:

>Priest reconverts to Hinduism amid vedic chants

>Wed, 18 Apr 2001 11:04:13 +0530

>

>Priest reconverts to Hinduism amid vedic chants

>From Subodh Ghildiyal

>DH News Service

>LUCKNOW, APRIL17

>http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/apr18/ipriest.htm

>

>Amid vedic chants and sprinkling of Ganga jal, Father Anthony

Fernandes

>was today rechristened Shankar Dev. He returned to the Hindu fold

after

>12 years as Christian, becoming the first priest to reconvert. The

>reconversion or 'shuddhikaran' (purification), carried out by Hindu

>Sanskar Kendra, drew men and women to the Radhakrishna temple in

>Varanasi. Those manning Hindu Sanskar Kendra have links with the

Sangh

>Parivar though they were vociferous in their claims to the contrary.

>

>Clarifying that he was "returning to the ancestral roots of his free

>will and without any coercion from any person or organisation",

Father

>Fernandes has not made things easier for the Sangh Parivar or the

Church

>either. His reconversion followed serious allegations of

irregularities

>and discrimination against the Church. However, the Church was quick

to

>disown him. "Fr Anthony Fernandes is not associated with the Church

>anymore and we think his utterances are not worthy of any

reaction ,"

>said a spokesman of Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Varanasi.

>

>As per plans, eleven Vedic scholars of Sankar Kendra performed the

>elaborate reconversion ceremony. A priest with the Catholic church

in

>Gujarat till two years ago, Fernandes took bath in the holy Ganges

and

>was escorted to the temple. The Mundan ceremony had his head being

>shaved off and the priests presented him with a new set of clothes.

He

>was given his new name which had been chosen in advance. After the

>ceremony, Fernandes nee Shankar Dev was welcomed to Hinduism.

>

>In October, Fernandes, a Konkani, had publicly criticised missionary

>activities. Not only did he come under media glare but was picked by

the

>Sangh Parivar. The Hindu Sanskar Kendra accepts the motive behind

>reconverting people is the same as the Sangh Parivar but denies any

>links with them. "We provide priests for birth and death rituals to

the

>poor who cannot afford to hire pandits. We have nothing to do with

>politics," said Ram Prasad Singh.

>

>Fernandes has not just left Christianity but provided enough

ammunition

>to those advocating the Indianisation of the Church. Among his eight

>demands from the government, he has demanded that Bishops appointed

by

>Rome should be derecognised. Dubbing the diocese as "Papal Mafia",

he

>has urged an investigation into the property under the Diocese and

>Bishops which, he said, was being misused. Further saying that

>Christianity did not approve of conversions, Fernandes has further

asked

>the Christians for an in-depth study of the Bible and Tora. He has

also

>alleged rampant discrimination within the Church.

>