Dubai: Archbishop Moras Addresses KEL Members
Media Release
Dubai, Oct 2: It was an opportune moment for members of Kanara Entrepreneurs to meet Most Rev. Bernard Moras, Archbishop of Bangalore, on 29th Sept 2010 at the India Club, during his visit to Dubai. The evening started with a warm welcome by the President of KEL - Albert Rodrigues, followed by an update on Kanara Entrepreneurs, their objectives and activities by the Chairman of KE- Global - Ivan Fernandes. President – Elect, Mrs. Shobha Mendonca then presented a video on the current status of one of our initiatives – Mangalore Internet City.
Archbishop Moras, in his address to the members said, “Many of you have come to Dubai and established yourselves by sheer hard work and determination. There is no substitute in life for hard work and determination. Nothing happens in life unless one puts in hard work, has a clear goal and determination to achieve it”. He congratulated the members for their effort in coming together to share their talents, expertise and experiences with each other for the benefit of the society. He said, “Such contributions are expected from each and everybody who believe in God and the church. We cannot be for ourselves. Until we give back to society and God, we can’t be blessed. So it is a great achievement to have joined together to give back in your own way, while at the same time, improve your own selves”.
Reflecting on what is happening to the Christian community, he said, “Today most of our Christian brethren are looking for an easy type of living. They are not really bothered about living together and supporting each other. While we still have Christian areas like Vas Lane in Mangalore, Cox Town in Bangalore and Bandra in Mumbai, which was once dominated by Christians, only the names remain, while several Christians have moved away from these places without understanding the impacts of such dilution, for our unity and strength. There was a time in Mangalore that Christians were leading in everything from education, as businesspersons, professionals, bureaucrats and in many other fields. Government was looking forward for leadership among Christians. Christians were sort after for confidence, trust and leadership.
Today, we have very few good bureaucrats and politicians, who can lead our country today. Christians in education, business and entrepreneurship are dwindling, not because there are no opportunities but because we want an easier life. We do not want to take up challenges and as a result the church is unable to provide the same leadership, which at one time it effectively rendered. Today in India, everybody has full respect for the church and what the church has done for the country in the field of education, health-care, social service and even leadership. Unfortunately, today we Christians, instead of supporting and helping, we have the weakness of pulling down each other like crabs and this is experienced by many. Instead of sharing God given talents, we want to keep it to ourselves so that others do not come up or compete with us. We are unfortunately, full of jealousy when we see somebody come up in life, although we speak against it in public”.
He reminded members that opportunities that come today may not come back tomorrow. “Unless you look at them and act on them today, we may lose them forever” he said. He called upon those who are blessed to share their experiences, support one another, help in sorting out each other’s problems for greater benefit of the society and give back something to the society and to the future generation.
Archbishop Moras reminded the importance of career guidance for today’s youngsters, in framing the future. He said, our past generations used to grope in the dark even after completing their graduation for want of support in getting proper guidance. He encouraged members to participate in such career guidance programs for the benefit of our youngsters. He also spoke of a program that is conducted every year in Bangalore called ‘God is in Control’. He said, the previous year he had invited all professionals and entrepreneurs to attend this program. A reflection was made on ‘Do you think that whatever you do in your life, God is in Control’? He insisted on the need to maintain professional ethics in every business activity that we involve in. He elaborated on one of the narrations made by an Indian businessman currently based in South Africa who had attended this program in Bangalore.
In his initial days he would go all out to win business, follow all routes available to him and bribe the required officials to get his job done. Then one day while in church he was hearing the homily and the priest said, ‘What does it matter if you win the whole world and lose your soul’? It changed this businessman’s perspective of doing business. Today he is a more successful than earlier but strictly adheres to professional ethics. He said, “Always uphold professional ethics, come what may. Easy money will not give you peace and there are no short cuts. The path to the heavenly kingdom is narrow”.
“Openness, sharing, transparency is important in everything that we do”, he said. He congratulated Kanara Entrepreneurs for collaborating with like minded organizations such as Rachana, Dimensions and ICCC. He also congratulated KEL for taking up joint investment projects such as Mangalore Internet City. He said such initiatives will help us build up our Christian spirit.
Alfred Vaz, Director – Events, proposed the vote of thanks and the event ended with fellowship and sumptuous dinner.