Diocesan campaign results in large Catholic voter turnout

PUNE (UCAN) -- Catholics have turned out to vote in record numbers after an “election prayer” campaign by a diocese convinced them of the need to participate in the general election. Pune, the cultural capital of Maharashtra state, and its surrounding areas voted on April 23 in the second of the Indian election’s five phases.

“For the first time, we saw a large turnout of Catholics at various polling booths unlike in previous elections,” said John Paul, a Catholic politician and former member of the Pune Municipal Corporation.

“It was surely the result of election prayers recited in all Catholic churches for over a month,” he said.

Paul, a parishioner of Pune’s Sacred Heart church, said the prayer campaign of Poona diocese convinced Catholics that voting was their “religious duty and obligation” as responsible citizens.

All churches in Poona diocese (the Church maintained the former spelling of the city’s name) recited a 23-line “Prayer for the Elections” during Mass from March 22 onward, said Diago Almeida, president of the Catholic Association of Poona.

Father Malcolm Sequeira, the diocese’s spokesperson, claimed more than 80 percent of the diocese’s 100,000 Catholics voted.

“They were motivated to vote for secular candidates who stood for human rights, liberty, equality and justice,” said the priest who is also the pastor at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Nearly 9,000 of his 12,000 parishioners voted, he said.

Father Sequeira said word of the prayer campaign spread so rapidly that priests from some neighboring dioceses asked for the prayer pamphlets to use in their churches.

The prayer, scripted by Father Sequeira and Salesian Father Wilfred D’Souza, and approved by Bishop Valerian D’Souza of Poona, begins: “Lord, we pray that in the forthcoming General Elections, a secular government will come to power so that constitutional rights and privileges of all citizens will be upheld and the freedom to practice one’s faith will be ensured.”

The diocese printed the prayer in English and the local Marathi language, and distributed it to all churches within its jurisdiction.

The Salesian priest said that diocesan officials aimed at having a 100 percent Catholic voter turnout since they were convinced the elections are “very crucial and decisive” for the country. He said reports of a large turnout among Catholics showed they had joined the political process as a community.

Father Simon Almeida, parish priest of St. Francis Xavier Church, said more than 95 percent of his parish’s 2,500 Catholics voted, which he believed was a record.

Although the bishop had only requested that the prayer be said during Sunday Mass, Catholics prayed it in all daily Masses.

Jolene Fernandes, 19, who voted for the first time, said she felt responsible for the country’s governance. She said she knew at least 10 others who voted for the first time because they said it was their religious duty.

The campaign also influenced the Religious. Sister Santan Nago, superior general of Sisters of Our Lady of Fatima, said 47 of her convent’s 50 nuns voted this time. The three who did not do so were out of town.

The Indian general election began on April 16 and will conclude on May 13 with results announced three days later.