Father figure

Father D8217;Souza, was ordained as the Bishop of Pune on September 25, 1977 and commenting on his journey for the past 31 years, he says, 8220;It has been a wonderful journey. Like every journey, this one also had its ups and down but I am happy that today, right from maintaining peace to administration we have been successfully reaching out to people be it about education, charity or spirituality.8221;

Father D8217;Souza is recognized worldwide as the Singing Bishop. Commenting on his identity as the only singing Bishop in the world, Father D8217;Souza laughs saying, 8220;I must say this is an exaggeration. I think it is more like the saying- The rich man8217;s joke is always humourous. But yes I do play guitar but am not a performer. The only time I get back to my identity of a singing bishop is during prayers, hymns and choirs.8221;

On the day he got ordained, father D8217;Souza had declared that he would build his identity as a spiritual leader. And as a responsible spiritual leader who is unhappy about the current political situation in the country, father D8217;Souza feels, 8220;Following one8217;s religion should not at all be a problem for anyone. What is and has been a concern are religious followers imposing their own religious values on the believers of other religions. The sad part of the story is that this kind of violence or imposition is done under the name of god. I personally feel that religion is the means to reach god and everyone has their own right to choose that path. No one can be forcefully made to follow another religion.8221; He further adds, 8220;What happened in the churches in the country is a sad story because extremists of these sorts do not realize that the victims of such attacks are innocent people, sometimes belonging to their own religion as well! For instance, the victims of one of the attacks were nuns. Now these extremists do not understand that these nuns do not even step out of the churches most of the times.8221;

Pune region which initially had 11 territories was initially divided into five for the ease of administration. Today however, there are two main regions and with over 60000 students getting education, existing orphanages, old age homes and the projects in the pipeline one of which is the centre for alcohol and drug addicts, Pune region is an epitome of effective as well as efficient administration. And the credit without saying goes to the realistic and practical leadership of father D8217;Souza. 8220;But I have a lot of expectations from Pune. The entire world is shaken by religious forces acting in various parts of the world. And despite the diversity and cosmopolitan population of Pune, the city has managed to live up to its identity as a responsible place. The religious forces in Pune are quite balanced,8221; says he as he further adds, 8220;In fact Pune has the potential to be the example in front of the world. And I feel that this is the right time to take action. It is important that the spiritual leaders from all the religions in this city come together and unite under one flag. Religious entities can coexist.Religion is on a spiritual level and the problems that have been created due to religious extremism can be solved not by bloodshed but by tapping the faith and souls.8221;