INL_01Feb2016_Electronic_Version

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COMMUNITYLINK
February 01, 2016
Priesthood brings serenity and solace
Carol D’Souza
A
visiting Bishop has said
that priesthood is satisfying
since it helps people
to seek and get serenity
and solace.
Bishop Agnelo Rufino
Gracias, who just retired from
his post, was in New Zealand
recently on holiday. He spoke to
Indian Newslink on a number of
issues and paid tribute to New
Zealanders, describing them
as kind-hearted and environment-friendly.
“I am happy to be a priest
because people have been very
kind and God has been so good.
Priesthood is a helping profession
because we reach out and help
people with their problems,” he
said.
Bishop Agnelo has been a priest
for 54 years and says that his life
has been busy, challenging but
fulfilling.
Formative years
Born in Kenya to Indian parents,
Bishop Agnelo moved to the
seminary in Mumbai in 1954 after
completing his school education
in Mombasa.
He was 14 years old but even at
that young age, he knew that he
was made for priesthood.
Bishop Agnelo Rufino Gracias
He said that although he never
doubted the decision to join the
seminary at a young age, he
would discourage youngsters
of today to make the same bold
move.
Some of them may regret it
because they are not mature
enough to make such an important
decision, he said.
But the rules have changes
since the 1950s.
“Today, a person can join the
seminary only after graduating
from a University because it is
only then that they can really
make a mature decision about
their future. I am very happy
with the rule,” he said.
Raigad Tribals
After several years in the
seminary, Bishop Agnelo sought
a change and was appointed to
St Michaels Church in Mahim
(Mumbai) as the Parish Priest
and a year later (in 2000) he was
appointed a Bishop.
The Archdiocese of Mumbai is
divided into Deaneries, with each
Deanery brought under a Bishop.
Since Bishop Agnelo was the
youngest, he was given the
farthest area of Raigad, where
the Church works for the local
tribes, including management
of a boarding school. “This is a
very important project because
the tribals mainly work as agricultural
labourers on lands that
probably belonged to their own
ancestors. Once the harvesting is
over, they move to other places
to work on brick kilns. Because
of their constant movement, the
tribal folk are not educated and
constantly search for work as
migrant labourers,” he said.
The Administrator
Administration formed a major
task of his portfolio, especially
since Archbishop of Mumbai Cardinal
Oswald Gracias constantly
travels as an Advisor to the Pope.
His assignments included Euthanasia,
Abortion, Proclamation
and Evangelisation.
Life has been so hectic that he
has had no time for hobbies but
he loves to read theology books
and magazines which help him
in his role as a Professor at the
seminary.
He also enjoys keeping in touch
with people through emails and
letters.
The Bishop was in New Zealand
on his retirement holiday
and to participate in the 25th
Wedding Anniversary of a couple
in Auckland.
“New Zealand is God’s land;
the people are kind; kinder than
what I would ever expect anyone
to be; the weather is nice; the
greenery and the landscape is
beautiful,” he said and added
A tribal woman from Maharashtra
that the passion of New Zealanders
in preserving and protecting
the environment is commendable.
Special Message
The Bishop had a special
Message for readers since the
interview was conducted just before
Christmas: “In the Christmas
season, as Pope Francis says, as
disciples of Jesus, we should be
witnesses to joy not sadness. The
Gospel calls us to be people of joy
because God is always with us, the
nearness of Christ we celebrate as
He comes to be one among us,He
comes not to go away but to stay
with us as the Emmanuel,(God
with us), God not far away from
us but with us that is why we
can always be full of joy even in
the midst of difficulties. This is
especially true because today is
celebrated as Gaudete Sunday.
Health risks mount with increasing
obesity
Aditya Sheth
aditya_sheth@hotmail.com
New Zealand is facing
a growing problem.
Obesity rates are on the
rise and the country is
ranked as the third most obese
nation in the world.
What is worse, many of those
affected are youth, with one in
nine children now being classed
as obese and a further one in
four considered overweight.
Adverse effects
Obesity can lead to a number
of life shortening conditions as
we age, such as heart disease
and diabetes (to which the
Indian community is particularly
prone), as well as various
gastrointestinal cancers.
A number of factors are
contributing to this trend.
Increasing number of fast
food outlets,a sharp rise in
consumption of processed
foods, and lack of exercise
are affecting the health of the
younger generation.
The tragedy about youth
obesity is that it is always the
fault of the youngsters. Overprotection
and forced feeding
by parents (for example the
need to ‘finish everything on
the plate’ and not waste food),
as well as false traditional beliefs
about health and nutrition
among parents and caregivers
also contribute to obesity.
Habit formation is crucial
in children, and bad habit
formation in relation to diet
and exercise from a young age
will do more harm later in their
lives. Health effects are not
noticed when the child is young
because the young body is able
to cope and is more active.But
bad eating habits continue into
adulthood, adding to health
complications.
BMI Index
As a guide, a healthy Body
Mass Index (BMI) for Indian
men and women is between
18.5 and 23. For a person who
is 180cms tall,the ideal weight
is between 60 kgs and 75kgs.
Above this, the risk for heart
disease and diabetes increases
significantly.
The recommended BMI for
people of Indian origin is lower
than other ethnicities because
the risk association with
diabetes and cardiovascular
diseases occurs at lower levels
of the Index.
This is attributed to body fat
distribution; Asian Indians tend
to have more visceral fat (fat
within the abdominal cavity),
which affects hormones more
than subcutaneous fat (fat under
the skin), causing higher insulin
resistance, and greater diabetes
risk.
Fitness programmes
One approach to tackle this
problem is to encourage our
young people to engage in exercise,either
at home, in school or
in the community.
Current guidelines recommend
that children (5-18 years)
should be doing at least 60
minutes of vigorousexercise per
day, but research shows that
only 10% of school students
work out every day.
As a parent/caregiver,please
encourage your children to
participate in community fitness
programmes (like Arogya Mantra),
health walks like Round
the Bays, or extra-curricular
sporting activities to help them
meet the daily 60 minutes of
exercisetarget.Safe walk/bicycle
routes to school are a great way
to exercise each day.
In terms of diet, make sure
your children know what foods
are healthy and what they
should be eating, especially if
they are choosing their own
lunches from school cafeteriasor
lunch shops.
Healthy foods
Processed foods high in
saturated fats, salt and sugar
should be minimised, while
a variety from the four food
groups of vegetables, fruits,
breads and cereals, milk, milk
products, lean meat, seafood,
eggs, legumes and nuts could be
on the daily diet.
Vegetarians in particular
need plenty of iron such as
wholegrain cereals, legumes,
dried fruits and dark green leafy
vegetables.
Vegans can get protein from
foods such as tofu and legumes.
They can also take drink soy
milk that has added calcium and
vitamin B12.
Aditya Sheth is with ‘Arogya
Mantra,’ an organisation that
promotes healthy living through
healthy habits and exercises. He
is based in Auckland.