On Saturday in my posting Hari Sabtu Snippets, I asked whether I should HANTAM the Bishop of Penang, Mgsr. Anthony Sivanyagam, because thru his lawyers the group above have been given eviction notice. A reader, Jude was fair when he said that we should hear the Bishop's side of the story and I asked Jude since he is a resident in Penang to do the needful. To date we have not heard from Jude and widow , Manimathu, 74 (foreground) has just passed away. Did she die of anxiety we don't know! But it looks like the monsignor is adamant and will not give his side of his story. Monsignor, this is not the time to observe any vow of silence.Read more at ANIL'S. and MarGeeMar
5 comments:
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/6/2/nation/4021864&sec=nation
Tuesday June 2, 2009
Penang church not selling land to hotel
By ANDREA FILMER
GEORGE TOWN: Bishop of Penang Antony Selvanayagam has refuted claims that the Catholic Church is selling a piece of land where 14 families have been asked to vacate to a hotel group.
Describing the claim as “absolute nonsense”, he said the land, located on the grounds of the St Francis Xavier Church in Penang Road, had been earmarked for religious and charitable purposes.
“The church is not selling that land. It has been earmarked for religious charitable and cultural purposes. There are three or four projects in the pipeline,” he told The Star after celebrating the parish feast day mass in the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Island Park on Sunday.
Bishop Antony noted that the Lighthouse (a drop-in centre for the homeless), La Salle Learning Centre and St Joseph’s Home were located within the grounds, and there were proposals to expand these services.
The church had recently been in the spotlight after residents occupying part of the St Francis Xavier Church grounds appealed against a notice to relocate.
The residents of the village, believed to be the only village left in George Town’s Unesco heritage zone, claimed they would be left homeless.
It is understood that RM60 a month is charged for rental there.
Bishop Antony said ample notice had been given to the residents to find a new home.
“Initially, the residents were asked to vacate the premises by the end of November last year but they were later given an extension until May 31, 2009,” he said.
In a letter from the church’s solicitor to the residents dated Feb 23 this year, the firm said the church had instructed it to offer the residents ex-gratia payments of RM10,000 per family.
However, since the residents had not been paying rental for the past 34 months, the arrears of RM2,040 were to be deducted from the amount offered.
“So far, two parties have accepted the payment and moved out,” said Bishop Antony.
In a related matter, the bishop said the houses vacated would be maintained, as they stood in the heritage buffer zone.
“We do not plan to demolish them, but following existing heritage guidelines on restoration and refurbishment, we can redesign the interior to suit our needs,” he said.
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The Herald
31 May 2009
No plans to sell church land, Bishop Selva
PENANG: Bishop Antony Selvanayagam has refuted claims that the diocese is planning to sell a portion of its land to the Cititel Hotel for development.
“That is absolute nonsense,” said Bishop Selva.
“The land on the grounds of the St Francis Xavier Church off Jalan Penang has been earmarked for religious, charitable and cultural purposes.”
St Joseph’s Home, the Lighthouse, the learning centre and a century-old village are situated within the property.
The Church wants the villagers to vacate their rented houses for redevelopment according to religious, charitable and cultural purposes.
These villagers have not been paying their rent for the past 34 months.
Bishop Selva said that ample notice had been given to the residents to relocate.
The residents were initially asked to vacate the premises by Nov 30 last year. They were later given an extension until May 31 this year.
It is understood the residents are being offered ex-gratia payment of RM10,000 each, with rental arrears deducted from the amount.
Bishop Selva explained that “so far two persons have accepted the payment and have left while another 12 remain.”
Another issue, which cropped up during this standoff has been the contention that the village is situated in the Unesco heritage zone. But Bishop Selva clarified that the village is situated outside the heritage zone but within the buffer zone.
“This means that we cannot demolish the houses but we can redesign the interior to suit the different needs of the organisation or group which will be using the houses.”
This bishop who talks about
'several projects' does not seem to understand who the church is supposed to help and protect.
'Bring me your poor, your tired, your huddled masses....'
Looks like the church is still in big biz!
Religion is big biz, DPP. No running away from that!
hi zorro,
i did send you a reply via this comment page a couple of days ago, and for some reason, it's not here.
fyi: i have uploaded it on my blog:
www.mucked-in-a-jam.blogspot.com.
i hope you did get to read it and draw your conclusions from there.
thanks. jude
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