PANAJI: Archbishop of Goa and Daman His Eminence Filipe Neri Cardinal Ferrao in his wishes on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi has said that this festival calls for the removal of obstacles, growth in wisdom, and respect for all.
In a message released on Saturday, the Archbishop said: “On this auspicious day of Ganesh Chaturthi, I, along with Auxiliary Bishop Simiao Fernandes and all the Catholic faithful of this Archdiocese, would like to convey warm and joyful greetings to every member of the Hindu community in this State.”
“This festival calls for removal of obstacles, growth in wisdom and respect for all, creating thereby a peaceful environment for enjoying prosperity, dignity and for promoting socio-cultural integrity,” he said.
The Archbishop further said “I would like to recall the words uttered by Pope Francis at the meeting of different religious leaders that took place during his just-concluded visit to Indonesia, wherein he said, “by looking deeply … we discover that we are all brothers, all pilgrims, all on our way to God, beyond what differentiates us”.
Fr Ferrao wished that this festival be an occasion for us to strengthen and renew our fraternal bonds that always existed in Goa and work together towards building an integrated nation where every citizen is valued, respected and provided equal opportunities.
“I wish our Hindu brethren a Joyous Ganesh Chaturthi and invoke God’s blessings upon them,” he added.
