Goa Archbishop condoles Parrikar's demise

The Goa Church has condoled the demise of Manohar Parrikar, claiming that the chief minister sometimes sought its opinion before taking "far-reaching decisions for the benefit of the state".

Parrikar (63) died on Sunday evening at his residence near here after battling pancreatic cancer for over a year.

"We acknowledge gratefully the respect and consideration he had for the church authorities in this state," Archbishop of Goa and Daman Fr Filipe Neri Ferrao said in a condolence message on Sunday.

"He would sometimes seek their opinion before coming out with far-reaching decisions for the benefit of the state," Ferrao said.

"His appreciation for the contribution of the Catholic educational institutions in Goa was well-known," he said.

The archbishop said the church was grateful to him for helping organise the last two Expositions of the Sacred Relics of St Francis Xavier in Old Goa and for creating a lasting infrastructure there.

Ferrao said Parrikar's passing away is a great loss to .