MAINTAIN ECOLOGICAL BALANCE,ARCHBISHOP TELLS LEADERS

Stating that any development should be guided by love, the Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao has called upon the state authorities and others concerned to give urgent attention to the ecological balance and sustainable development, which, he said, was so much in need of.
Addressing an august gathering of the dignitaries including the Governor, Dr Shivinder Singh Sidhu, the Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat, his wife, Ms Asha Kamat, cabinet ministers, senior government officers, clergy and others to mark the Christmas celebrations; the Archbishop said that the state legislators and politicians sometimes give an ear to the aspirations of the people, as platforms were offered to these to make their voices heard. “We also see them paying attention to the ecological balance and sustainable development, which this land was so much in need of,” he said even as he drew attention of one and all to the dwindling agricultural land, desertification of the farming space, erosion of beaches, which he added were some of ecological problems which have, by and large, merited the attention of the state leaders. He, however, said that that was not enough and that there were many other issues that needed attention. He said that there were perspectives that we needed to take into consideration as we look towards sustainable development in the state. Quoting the Pope he said one of the values that needed to be taken care of was that the development of people depended, above all, on a recognition that the human race was a single family working together in true communion, not simply a group of subjects who happen to live side by side. He said that the Church has consistently proclaimed and defended this universal value throughout its history. Archbishop Ferrao expressed a fervent hope that “any development or promotion of the human person be guided by love” and assured that the government would always have the most frank collaboration on the part of the Church in Goa, as far as it was allowed by the situations and, above all, by what it believed.Stating that there was widespread environment destruction, he said that there was widespread anxiety about environment degradation and called upon political leaders to show the will to slow down the degradation.