Mangalore: Demonstrators on Tuesday gathering at city Bishop’s residence in Kodialbail, staged a silent show demanding ownership for their houses around the Catholic Church, instead of Constructing new houses.
In a pamphlet distributed to press reporters, two groups belonging to united Christian Association and Christian Reform Foundation, stated that 320 houses were planned where they lived at present, but the church should transfer the ownership of the land to the poor families, instead of building new homes for them.
13 families were being evicted from the compound of St. Anthony’s Institutes of Charity, where they had made homes. Irene and John were shown as beneficiaries of a housing project by the church, which they claimed was false.
The two organisations demanded an apology from the church on its 125th anniversary celebrations, which was false. They made several charges against the priests like collecting donations under harassment, and denying burial services to poor people.
Jeevan Vaz and Augustine Rodrigues led the 2 groups of angry demonstrators against the Bishop and his men in Catholic Church.