By Lavoisier Fernandes –
The recent nightclub fire in Arpora, Goa-India, which claimed twenty-five lives and injured at least fifty people, has shaken the state’s conscience.
The tragedy exposed not only administrative negligence and systemic corruption but also a deeper problem: the hypocrisy that thrives when moral principles are selectively applied.
It is far easier to point fingers outward than to examine the quiet forms of complicity that exist within our own communities, parishes, and families, which allow injustice to flourish.
Goa offers a particularly painful mirror because of its tight-knit communities, strong faith identities, and a culture where everyone knows everyone and Hindus make up 63% of the population while Christians 25%, and Muslims 12% respectively.
This closeness can foster solidarity—but it can also shield wrongdoing. Within the Catholic community, the contrast between the Church’s moral teachings and the everyday choices of the laity has never been more evident.
Political Accountability: The Missing Spine
Every tragedy in India is followed by predictable theatrics:
- leaders visit the injured,
- compensation is announced,
- committees are formed,
- blame is shifted downward onto “small officials,”
- and public anger fades within days.
Politicians escape accountability because citizens rarely demand it. Instead, many seek favours, adjustments, connections, or “help” that reinforce the same corrupt networks.
In Goa, this cycle is even more pronounced. For decades, politicians—across parties—have cultivated patronage systems where people depend on them for:
- government jobs,
- regularising illegal houses,
- settling disputes,
- clearing files,
- granting licences,
- and turning a blind eye to illegal operations.
When politicians become brokers of favours rather than servants of the law, they naturally protect illegal establishments that benefit their networks. This is exactly how unsafe buildings remain open, how nightclubs operate without fire NOCs, and how festival areas become disaster zones.
It is not just a failure of the leaders. It is a failure of the social structure that keeps them in power.
The Catholic Community’s Contradiction: Faith Without Accountability
The Catholic Church teaches that political engagement is a moral duty for all the faithful. Not engagement for personal gain—but for justice, truth, and the common good. Yet in Goa, the opposite often plays out.
A significant share of the Catholic laity is involved in the tourism sector—guesthouses, shacks, taxis, restaurants, rentals, events, nightlife, homestays. Tourism is a blessing, but it has also become a theatre for widespread informal and illegal practices.
Many knowingly:
- run establishments without licences,
- bypass fire safety norms,
- underreport income and avoid taxes,
- construct illegally in coastal or ecologically sensitive zones,
- use political influence to obtain permits,
- operate events without proper clearances,
- or ignore labour exploitation and unsafe conditions.
These actions create the environment that allows tragedies like Arpora to occur.
The moral contradiction is stark: Goans, including many Catholics, condemn corruption loudly in public yet quietly depend on it in private.
It becomes even more damaging when wrongdoing is dismissed with defensive narratives like “minority persecution” or “our community is being targeted,” even when the violation is clear.
Faith cannot be used as a shield to avoid accountability.
The Tragedy That Exposed Our Moral Blind Spots
The nightclub fire was more than an accident; it was the result of a culture that normalised illegality. Reports revealed safety violations, improper licences, ignored notices, and a building that continued operating despite clear hazards.
Corruption did not begin with officials or business owners. It began with every layer of society that allowed the illegal structure to stand, operate, and grow—unchallenged.
When society ignores wrongdoing because it benefits friends, relatives, or community members, we all become accomplices. The fire revealed a collective failure to uphold the very values we claim to cherish justice, truth, and human dignity.
When Faith Becomes a Badge Instead of a Moral Duty
Many Catholics proudly identify with their faith, parish life, and religious practices. Yet faith is not merely cultural identity; it is meant to transform behaviour. Catholic social teaching is not a theoretical chapter in a catechism—it is a call for moral consistency in public life.
Yet religious identity is sometimes used as a defence rather than a responsibility. This becomes apparent when:
- We decry injustice done to us, but ignore injustice committed by us.
- We demand accountability from others but resist it for ourselves.
- We invoke the language of persecution to avoid confronting wrongdoing within our own community.
This is not faith; it is selective morality. The credibility of the Church’s voice in society depends not on how loudly we criticise others, but on how honestly, we hold ourselves accountable.
The Church’s Teaching Leaves No Room for Hypocrisy
The Church has always insisted that every baptised person bears responsibility for the moral direction of society. As Pope Pius XI reminded us:
“When once men recognize, both in private and in public life, that Christ is King, society will at last receive the great blessings of real liberty, well-ordered discipline, peace and harmony.”
These blessings—liberty, discipline, peace, and harmony—do not fall from the sky. They arise when people live honestly, reject corruption, and refuse to participate in social structures that harm the vulnerable.
Catholics cannot claim to honour Christ while engaging in corrupt practices, supporting unethical politicians, or staying silent when wrongdoing occurs within their own parishes or communities.
A Call for Honest Conversion
Goa does not lack good people; it lacks moral courage.
The courage to speak the truth even when it is uncomfortable.
The courage to reject favours even when everyone else accepts them.
The courage to challenge wrongdoing even when the wrongdoer sits in the church pew beside us.
If tragedies are to be prevented, the renewal of society must begin not with speeches, but with conscience. Not with blaming others, but with examining ourselves.
Not with pointing to political corruption alone, but with acknowledging the corruption we tolerate in our own lives.
The path to justice begins within our own hearts.
Lavoisier Fernandes, born and raised in Goa, is currently based in West London. His faith is “work in progress”- and a lifelong journey. He has always been fascinated by the Catholic faith, thanks to his Salesian schooling. He’s passionate about podcasting, theology, the papacy, and volunteering. He has hosted ‘Talking Faith’ series for Heavens Road FM, Catholic Radio, connecting with ordinary men and women within the Catholic faith, other faiths and examining issues affecting both the Church and society. He has also been a host on Shalom World Catholic TV for two episodes of the ‘Heart Talk’ series. He presently contributes for the Goa Diocesan magazine Renevacao.