Fr. Chico Monteiro

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FR. CHICO MONTEIRO (1918-1990)

Sanctity assures every soul the right of citizenship in God’s Celestial Kingdom, and no earthly being has the moral authority to overturn this intrinsic right.[1]

Fr. Chico’s ungainly conflict with the Indian Government -- over the status quo of his nationality following Goa’s liberation from Portugal in 1961 -- was an act of uncommon valor, not that of arrogance against God or Caesar. His was the voice of righteousness crying out conscientiously in the wilderness of every one else's naiveté, because his solitary stand resonated that which was lawfully every person’s existential right under the Geneva Convention: One's place of birth conclusively determines one's nationality, and it is against all statutory and constitutional law and principles to denationalize one's nationality.[2]

The trauma and repercussions of this political ordeal subjected Fr. Chico's faith and psyche to no less a harrowing test of credence than that of the Biblical Job. But unlike the Biblical Job who was rewarded fourfolds for his unfaltering faith and perseverance, Fr. Chico settled for a life of spiritual solace and solitude. From that point on, he had resolved to commit the remainder of his life to understanding God and glorifying His Name by being of unconditional service to his fellowbeings. In the process, however, he had overlooked the infallible fact that he was merely a mortal like any other, fatally susceptive to the punitive consequences of a humanitarian schedule which he had laden with relentless toil and unheeding fatigue.

He died in Goa on October 29, 1990, in the conscious presence of God and the sick he had just attended to.

In 1991, he was posthumously conferred the Vincent Xavier Verodiano Award in recognition of "his life of magnanimous simplicity through which he graciously overcame every human obstacle in the face of helping others; and, for his life long stand on what one's moral obligation to God, Truth, and Humanity ought to be.[3]

1 Early Life
2 Rev. Msgr. Chico Monteiro v. The State of Goa
3 Further reading
4 External links

[edit] Early Life

Sebastiao Francisco Xavier dos Remedios Monteiro was born in Candolim on February 1, 1918. He was a lineal descendant of Jose and Maria-Helena Monteiro, who were honoured with a "brazao"(coat of arms) by the Portuguese King Dom João VI in 1802. He was ordained a priest on October 3, 1942 and conferred the title of Monsignor by Pope Pius XII in 1957. [4]

[edit] Rev. Msgr. Chico Monteiro v. The State of Goa

The territory of Goa was a Portuguese colony for about 450 years until it was seized on December 19, 1961 by the Indian Armed Forces following a short military action. It then came under Indian Administration from December 20, 1961 and was governed under the Goa, Daman and Diu (Administration) Ordinance 1962, promulgated by the President of India. [5]

After the annexation of Goa by India, Fr. Chico Monteiro had the option of becoming an Indian national or retaining Portuguese nationality. He choose the latter and was registered as a foreigner. He also obtained a temporary residential permit which allowed him to stay on in India till November 13, 1964. However, when his residential permit expired on November 13, 1964, Fr. Monteiro refrained from renewing it, thus resulting in a deporation order [6] issued by the Lt. Governor of Goa to leave the country. Fr. Monteiro defied the order on the grounds that he was protected by the Geneva Conventions Act, 1960, and furthermore, that the order of the Lt. Governor of Goa for his deportation was ultra vires the Act and that, he had committed no offence. [7]

Fr. Monteiro remained in judicial custody while his appeal against the Lt. Governor’s deportation order wended its way through the appellate courts. On March 26, 1969, the Supreme Court of India upheld [8] the deportation order and Fr. Monteiro was sentenced to solitary confinement in a jail in Patiala, Punjab.

In 1970, the Holy See intervened for the release of Fr. Monteiro. In a quid pro quo, Fr. Monteiro was exchanged for Dr Telo Mascarenhas, a Goan freedom fighter who was deported and jailed in Peniche, Portugal. [9]

On his return to Goa, Fr. Monteiro was confined to and remained under house arrest in his ancestral home in Candolim. He died on October 29, 1990.

Fr. Monteiro was represented by the Queen’s Counsel, Mr. Edward Gardner. [10]

Rev. Mons. Sebastiao Francisco Xavier dos Remedios Monteiro (Fr. Chico Monteiro) v. The State of Goa

Judicial Order