SYNOPSIS - 2008

The Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCS) was established on January 20, 1989 under the patronage of the then Archbishop of Bombay , Simon Cardinal Pimenta. The BCS is registered with the Charity commissioner under the Mumbai Public trust Act 1950 and represents the interest and concerns of our catholic community, in particular, and all Christians in general.

The present membership of the BCS has crossed 43000 life members and our Chief Patron is Archbishop Oswald Gracias.

The Thrust Area of the Bombay Catholic Sabha is CIVIC AND POLITICAL ACTIVISM

The Bombay Catholic Sabha has a number of OUTREACH SERVICES that include:

RACE EMPLOYEMENT CENTRE.                         R. T. I HELPDESK .

SENIOR CITIEN I. D. CARDS DESK.                    LEGAL FORUM

PROJECT BLOODLINE.

The Bombay Catholic Sabha has always been in the fore front of all civic, social, economic activities in the Archdiocese of Bombay and some of the events (though not exhaustive) conducted in the last year by the BCS are :

April 2007:

Sabha Day 2007 was held with about 800 members and distinguished guests with Bishop Agnelo Gracias as the Chief Guest. The Best Unit Award was bagged by St. Michael, Mahim with Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Chembur as Runners Up and St. Anthony’s Malvani won the Award for the Best Upcoming Unit, with Our Lady of Fatima, Sewri, a close runner up. On this occasion the Sabha also acknowledged with gratitude the contribution made to the city by Fr. Francis de Melo, Provincial of the Jesuits; Fr. Ivo Coelho Provincial of the Salesians; Sr. Udaya Chiramal, Superior St. Catherine’s Home; Mr. Conrad Saldanha; Mr. Agnelorajesh Athaide ; and our Hon’ble Municipal Councillors, Mr. Adolf D’Souza, Mrs. Kavita Rodriques, Mrs. Alice Therratil and Mr. Clive Dias. A new feature added was recognition and appreciation for the outstanding work of our very own members, for which Sr. Venita Fernandes, from St. Elizabeth’s Nursing Home and Mr. Austin Nazareth, Chairman of the fledgling new unit of St. Anthony, Malvani were awarded. The Sabha is constantly grateful for all the support from our Parish Priests and gratefully appreciated the outstanding support of 3 Parish Priests – Fr. Theo Fernandes, Fr. Austin Norris and Fr. Paul Julius, all of whose Parish Units are doing exceptionally well with their encouragement.

May 2007 :

• Organized a Dharna at Azad Maidan in protest against attacks on minorities in Kolhapur.

• Assisted the Mahiti Adhikar Manch in the RTI camps conducted at various railway stations during the period May to August 2007.

June 2007:

Meeting and Interaction with the Dharavi Beth Bachao Samiti to discuss ways and means to oppose the suggested SEZ plan in the Gorai Uttan belt.

July 2007 :

Made presentations, on the possible repercussions of SEZs, at various Deanery meetings and also to the Parish Units..

August 2007:

Made presentations to the Deanery Priests meetings on the issue of SEZ and other civic and political concerns.

Sept. 2007:

Conducted a signature campaign against SEZ at the Bandra Fair.

October 2007:

Elections were held for the vacancies of Deanery Councilors at the AGM and this was followed by the Elections of the President, 3 Vice Presidents and 15 members of the Executive Committee for the term 2007-10. Mr. Dolphy D’Souza was re-elected as the President.

November 2006 :

The BCS honored 166 students who excelled in their academic examinations in 32 different disciplines from SSCE to Ph.D, at its 17^th Annual Academic Awards function. The Chief Guest was Mr. Albert D’souza, Managing Director of Printania Printing Press Pvt Ltd.

December 2007 :

• An Orientation programme was conducted by Mr. Thomas Lobo, for all central councilors to review the vision and mission of the Sabha .

• Collaborated with the Sahar Citizens Forum in organizing a silent candle light protest rally at Sahar to protest against proposed land acquisitions supposedly for the Airport expansion.

January 2008 :

• Held a Candle light vigil at Salvation Church to protest against continuing attacks on minorities all over the country.

• Had a joint meeting of various Catholic Associations to strategise and join forces unitedly for a more concerted agitation against SEZ in Gorai Uttan and the Land Acquisition plans of the Sahar Church and village properties by MIAL.

February 2008 :

• BCS Footcom 2008 conducted in which 18 teams participated

• Members participated in boat blockade program at Gorai.

• Had a meeting with His Eminence, Oswald Cardinal Gracias, to appraise him about the developments on Sahar Airport Expansion plans.

• Units conducted Silent Candle Light protests outside their parishes to protest against attacks on minorities.

March 2008 :

• The Finals of BCS Footcom 2008 were held. The Winners were Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, Borivli and the Runners-up were St. Anthony, Malvani

• Organized a massive protest Rally of over 50,000 people on the issues of a) Scrap SEZ at Gorai Uttan Belt, b) Stop land acquisition at Sahar and c) Stop attacks on minorities.

• Collaborated with other organizations in a protest rally at Azad Maidan to protest against attacks on Nuns at Raigad district and the unjust application of the Atrocity Act against Ms Vaishali Patil.

Besides the above activities, the Sabha has always been in the forefront in identifying social issues concerning the city of Mumbai by making RTI applications and also by helping people file RTI applications and also meeting the concerned authorities at various levels. The BCS also networked with various NGOs on issues related to betterment of the city of Mumbai and worked in close collaboration with the Church in the City.

Regular Deanery meetings has resulted in building up a strong networking and bonding amongst the members. This is also a help in reviving units that are not functioning satisfactorily and in making efforts to start new Units in parishes that do not have our presence. Some of the Deaneries also celebrated their “Deanery Day” as a fellowship gathering of members with their families and a means of showcasing and fostering local talents.

PARISH UNITS are the strength of the Sabha. The many diverse activities in all these parish units and their involvement at the grassroots level in society is what makes the BCS a driving force.

Our Vision - Mission Statement .

TO CREATE A JUST SOCIETY

THROUGH INVOLVEMENT IN

SOCIO, CIVIC AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS.

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“Committed to a Better Tomorrow, Today!”