PANJIM: The former Parish Priest of Ribandar Fr. Newton Rodrigues who failed to appear in Court in connection with the 2004 Ribandar Church case had in a letter dated 7th March 2011 sent from Canada to the Panjim Judicial Magistrate’s Court claimed that he was not keeping well for over a month because of extremely cold climatic conditions in Canada and so was unable to attend the Court.
Fr Newton Rodrigues in his letter to the court had further stated that it was not possible for him to come down to Goa at an early date as he would be busy with church related work and that other witnesses in the case be first summoned and examined.
Fr. Newton Rodrigues in yet another letter dated May 5th 2011 wrote to the court that he is not able to return to Goa at this time and asked the court to advise him if there is anything else he can do in the matter.
Panjim Judicial Magistrate First Class had on 21st January this year issued summons directing Fr. Newton Rodrigues to be present in courton 1st of March. The summons was faxed to Fr. Newton Rodrigues on the same day and a copy was also sent by courier to St. Bernadette Church at Calgary in Canada where Fr Newton Rodrigues is currently the Pastor. Panjim JMFC Ms Sarika Phaldesai has now directed Fr. Newton Rodrigues to be present in court on 9th June.
The prosecution in the 2004 Ribandar Church case may suffer a sever jolt with Fr. Newton Rodrigues failing to appear in court to depose. It was on Fr. Newton Rodrigues’s complaint that Adv. Aires Rodrigues and 14 other Ribandar residents were charge sheeted for entering the church and disturbing a church committee meeting. Fr. Newton Rodrigues being the complainant his evidence is vital to the prosecution case.
Adv. Aires Rodrigues has today stated that Fr. Newton Rodrigues in his letters to the Court had lied and was trying all tactics to avoid appearing in court.
Adv. Rodrigues has stated that in February this year Father Newton Rodrigues was very much in Goa and had even attended a function at the Calangute Church on 5th February to mark the first mass by a newly ordained priest Fr. Roque Fernandes. Adv. Rodrigues has stated that Father Newton Rodrigues in February was also seen several times at a Margao dental clinic run by Dr. Armando Silva and that Father Newton Rodrigues had also celebrated the silver jubliee of his priesthood at the Seraulim Church near Colva.
Stating that nobody is above the law, Adv. Rodrigues has demamded that Father Newton Rodrigues be brought on warrant back to Goa to pay the price of filing a false and malicious case against 15 Ribandar residents just to save himself from the charges of having alleged molested a 13 year old Ribandar girl.
Priesthood is a highly respected vocation in Goa.
ReplyDeleteIt gives families and villages great honour to have a "man of the cloth" amongst them.
However this Fr.Newton has done a lot of damage to Priesthood.
With each passing day he is bringing more dishonour to this vocation.
The decent & God fearing Priests, must have to endure a lot of negativity from Parishoners & other faiths.
The sooner Fr Newton comes down to Goa and clears his name ,the better for the Church.
Hiding under a cassock and blowing his personal Trumpet to the tune of merry tune or hymn of "defamation",in Canada , will not help.
If he is expecting an alleged crime commited in Goa, to be resolved in Canada, he must be a joker!!!
If Fr Newton Rodrigues is innocent and has a case to answer which he himself has filled then he should be in Goa rather than dictating from Canada.
ReplyDeleteIn respect to the church Fr Newton must come to Goa and clear his name if he has nothing to hide.
ReplyDeleteFr. Newton is a FUGITIVE. If he was not guilty, he would have definitely come. He would have not gone abroad in the first place until his name was cleared. Barking from far of is a sign of fear from what is happening, like the street dogs.
ReplyDeleteFr. Newton should realise that his wrong doings has a repercussion on the good priests, as many weigh them all in the same pan.
Fr. Newton will be responsible for wrongs that wlil have to be borne by the good priests.
You have concrete evidence I guess ? Its easy to talk that you know a lot , but your showing your ignorance in your post as a complete imbecile.
ReplyDeleteThe Head of the Flock at Altinho must be silently reading this and laughing out as he himself turning out to be like Digambar Kamat.
ReplyDeleteunfather newton will definitely hava his email id
ReplyDeletesomeone mail him to read the niz goenkar
all wifes and daughters are for them for free
they are trained for molesting, raping, sleeping with someone elses wives
looting the church property and every thing that is told not to do in the bible
and at the end they say we are human beings we also have weaknesses
then i have to say you have more weaknesses then lay men
only visible solution let them get married.
a fed up goan
It's high tide for Adv. Aires to summon "The Bishop of Goa" for future hearings in absence of the molester Pastor Newton. This will add a pressure on the Altinho City to summon their lost son to Goa to face justice on earth rather than heavens.
ReplyDelete