RESTORER OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
On reaching Mangalore in 1682 Blessed Joseph Vaz saw scandals in the Church because of the above mentioned squabbles over Padroado and Propadanda jurisdiction. Propaganda priests, ordained by Bishop Thomas de Castro, Vicar Apostolic, were active from their Hempankatta Church, half an hour of distance from the Padroado Church in the Fort. Each side repeated the baptism, sacraments of marriage and confessions, saying that the other side had no jurisdiction. The Catholic Church seemed to be divided. The people were confused. Bl. Joseph Vaz had scruples of conscience seeing this state of affairs. Bl. Joseph Vaz tried to pacify the Vicar Apostolic, Bishop Thomas de Castro, whom he was empowered to excommunicate. He went personally to see Thomas de Castro and asked him to show him the documents of his appointment. Thomas de Castro readily did that. On being satisfied that Mangalore was mentioned, Bl. Joseph Vaz knelt before the Bishop and asked him conditionally to give him the jurisdiction if it was his, and to accept his work and that of his priests. Bl. Joseph Vaz then wrote to the Chapter of Goa to solve this intricate problem.
The new Archbishop of Goa, D. Manuel de Souza Menezes, wanted to dismiss Bl. Joseph Vaz from his responsible post for the tacit acknowledgement of the jurisdiction of the Vicar Apostolic by his own Vicar Forane. But a Jesuit priest who was coming to Goa from Mysore and had stayed with Bl. Joseph Vaz in Barcelore and had witnessed his apostolate and his deep prayer life gave a report to the Archbishop and saved the situation. This Jesuit was probably Fr. Manuel de Temudo.
When the new Archbishop of Goa, D. Manuel de Souza Menezes sent a pastoral and insisted on his rights, Bl. Joseph Vaz still succeeded in maintaining the balance, by bearing patiently the insults and injuries of the Vicar Apostolic, who now began to censure him. When Bl. Joseph Vaz finally decided to give up his post of Vicar Forane of Mangalore on the death of Archbishop D. Manuel in 1684, in favour of Fr. Nicolau de Gamboa (one of the three priests who had been sent to Mangalore from Goa by the Archbishop to assist him), he went to see the vicar Apostolic.
But since the latter was away from Mangalore, Bl. Joseph Vaz knelt down at the feet of his Vicar General and protested that whatever he had done was in obedience to his own prelate (Archbishop of Goa) and not to offend anyone. Even then he asked him pardon, in all humility. And although the censures of the Vicar Apostolic were not affecting him, Bl. Joseph Vaz asked the Vicar Apostolic through his Vicar General to absolve him publicly if he felt it necessary, so that the ignorant people might not think that he was despising the Vicar Apostolic or did not want to submit to him. Thus Bl. Joseph Vaz wanted to undo any scandal in the minds of Christians and non-Christians in Mangalore and safeguard the unity of the Church. The Vicar General was so taken up by this humble behavior that recognizing the truth and virtues of Bl.
Joseph Vaz, embraced him. The they parted form one another. Thus by his humility Bl. Joseph Vaz cut the Gordian knot of this controversy in Mangalore, a thing that the Church elsewhere in India took over three centuries to solve after fights, counter fights, court cases and sacrileges because neither side wanted to give up. Bl. Joseph Vaz's preoccupation was rather pastoral than juridical.
During his stay in Kanara, the mind of Bl. Joseph Vaz was how to rescue the persecuted Catholics in Ceylon, He had therefore repeatedly insisted with Fr. Nicolau de Gamboa to sell him to the Dutchmen who were frequenting the ports of Kanara in their ships in order to be able to enter Shri Lanka as a slave--a thing Fr. Nicolau de Gamboa would not dare to do. Bl. Joseph Vaz therefore resigned his post as said above, and came back to Goa. Archbishop Menezes died on 31-1-1684 and Thomas de Castro, Vicar Apostolic, died on 16-7-1684. Between these two dates Bl. Joseph Vaz left for Goa. The Vicar General of the Vicar Apostolic died in 1700. In a fortnight after his death, Fr. Nicolau de Gamboa became the sole Vicar Forane of Kanara with jurisdiction over the entire kingdom.
Contact: Rector (Vice Postulator - Goa)
Sanctuary of Blessed Joseph Vaz, 413 Blessed Joseph Vaz Road, P. O. Cortalim, SANCOALE - Goa - 403710-INDIA
Contact Office Tel: 00 91 832 2550263 / 2550517 e-mail: sanjovaz@blessedjosephvaz.org [www.blessedjosephvaz.org]
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