The panel will especially keep an eye on allegations of some institutes forcing students to pay hefty donations for admissions.
Scams in schools run by the Catholic Church won’t go unnoticed henceforth.
The Church has formed a permanent committee of senior priests to probe allegations of corruption against officials of such schools.
The panel will especially keep an eye on allegations of some institutes forcing students to pay hefty donations for admissions.
It will also look into complaints about mismanagement and illegal sale of church property as well as allegations of sexual misconduct against officials of church-run institutions.
The appointment of the committee is significant since the Church is one of the largest providers of educational services in the city with nearly 100 schools and more than two lakh children on the rolls.
Archbishop of Bombay Cardinal Oswald Gracias announced the appointment of the committee last week. The archdiocesan enquiry committee will include Father Michael Goveas as convener. Father Salvador Rodrigues and Father Savio Fernandes will be members.
Calling it a fact-finding committee, Fernandes said: “The committee’s job will be to investigate the complaints and help the archbishop take action.”
Added Fernandes, “For instance, we are clear that our educational institutions cannot charge capitation fees, either in the name of development fees or as donations. Many complaints about donations are made under fictitious names or by anonymous persons.”
The committee will also keep an eye on molestation charges against officials. Though there have been no such allegations lately, the church was concerned about a recent Navi Mumbai case where a school teacher allegedly molested a student.
Though the school is not under the archdiocese of Bombay, the church felt the need of a team to investigate such complaints, if they come up. “Complaints of this nature can be sent to the archbishop who will send it to the committee for inquiry,” Fernandes said.
Apart from the inquiry committee, the church has also announced a team of financial and legal experts, including a former Bombay high court judge, to help parish priests in property matters.
Lately, there have been allegations of illegal sale of church property in various parishes, including St Michael’s Church in Mahim and Our Lady of Salvation (Portuguese Church) in Dadar.
“There are already safeguards to prevent illegal sale. But our priests are not experts in property matters and need guidance,” Fernandes said.
Community groups have welcomed the formation of the committee. Dolphy D’Souza of the Bombay Catholic Sabha described the appointment of the committee as a “confidence-building exercise”. “I think the church is trying to be more transparent and reinforce the level of confidence by appointing people with a broad spectrum of experience in such matters,” D’Souza said.
Gleason Baretto, co-ordinator of Mobai Gaothan Panchayat, which represents the East Indian community, said, “We had raised the issue about the illegal sale of properties in our June memorandum to the archdiocese. We appreciate this initiative. The results will show how effective the appointments are.”
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