Archbishop reiterates support for fight against corruption

The Archbishop of Bombay, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, on Thursday reiterated support to Anna Hazare and appealed for 'flexibility' on the Lokpal Bill.

Praising Hazare for bringing the issue of corruption to centre-stage, Cardinal Gracias said the Gandhian activist succeeded in convincing people that the issue must be addressed seriously and urgently.

"You have succeeded in ensuring that the whole country is vigilant so that no ineffective Bill is passed by the Government," he said.

Cardinal Gracias, who is also the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, clarified the Church's stand on the issue stating that the Church was fully with Anna Hazare in his campaign against corruption.

"Corruption is unjust, immoral, illegal and exploitative of the poor and the under-privileged, who suffer the most as a result of this," he said.

However, Gracias appealed to both government and Anna Hazare to be flexible on the issue.

"We have to eradicate corruption; we have to honour the Constitution. I appeal to all to work unitedly and selflessly within these parameters to arrive at a just solution that is good for the people of the country," he said.

While stressing for an effective Lokpal, Cardinal Gracias also pointed the need for wedding out corruption from the hearts of people.

"The root of corruption is greed, selfishness and materialism. God and spirituality must come centre-stage. Only then will our country make progress," he advised.

Earlier, in a statement, the Archbishop of Delhi, Vincent Concessao, said the tremendous response of the people to Anna's appeal was an indication of how prevalent the problem is.

Archbishop Concessao, who is also a founder member of 'India Against Corruption' (IAC), is of the opinion that much was to be done in terms of value education and conscience formation in the days to come.

He, however, went on to say, "We cannot set aside the democratic processes. I am in favour of fasts to make a point but fast unto death is not acceptable as life is a gift of God and God alone has the right to take it away. We are supposed to preserve and promote life".

Anna Hazare ended his 288-hour-long fast at Ramlila Maidan after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to meet Hazare's key demands. "Only half of the battle has been won, there is still some of it left," Hazare told the crowd.