Sanctity assures every soul the right of citizenship
in Gods Celestial Kingdom, and no earthly being has the
moral authority to overturn this intrinsic right.
Fr. Chicos ungainly conflict with the Indian Government
-- over the status quo of his nationality following Goas
liberation from Portugal in 1961 -- was an act of uncommon
valor, not that of arrogance against God or Caesar. His
was the voice of righteousness crying out conscientiously in
the wilderness of every one else's naiveté, because his
solitary stand resonated that which was lawfully every persons
existential right under the Geneva Convention:
One's place of birth conclusively determines one's nationality,
and it is against all statutory and constitutional law and principles
to denationalize one's nationality.
The trauma and repercussions of this political ordeal subjected
Fr. Chico's faith and psyche to no less a harrowing test of credence
than that of the Biblical Job. But unlike the Biblical
Job who was rewarded fourfolds for his unfaltering faith
and perseverance, Fr. Chico settled for a life of spiritual solace
and solitude. From that point on, he had resolved to commit
the remainder of his life to understanding God and glorifying
His Name by being of unconditional service to his fellowbeings.
In the process, however, he had overlooked the infallible fact
that he was merely a mortal like any other, fatally susceptive
to the punitive consequences of a humanitarian schedule which
he had laden with relentless toil and unheeding fatigue.
He died on October 29, 1990, in the conscious presence of God
and the sick he had just attended to.
-Dom
Martin
|