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REFOCUSING ONMGRANASTASIUS HARTMANN 495 ther. Whether it was in upholcling the interests of the Propaganda Fide against the claims advanced by the Padroado or in reinstating his missionaries to theit rightful posicions and proteccing them from the evil tongues, he remained a faithful watchdog, quite unconcerned about the make-or-break effect it would have had on his own reputation. The five letters that have been contextualized in this study spotlight Mgr Hartmann's modus operandi in fulfilling his pastoral obliga~on in some con– crete circumstances. The whole affair of the loan of Rs 4000 for the construc– tion of the St Peter's Church in Bandra took piace in absolute transparency. The newly reconciled community was in dire need of a convenient church of theit own, and the Apostolic Adrninistrator saw to its execution, while leaving ali the practicalities in the hands of the Carmelite Fathers. The Vicariate, find– ing itself short of disposable liquid cash, had to approach the banks for the loan. The details of the onerous task of raising the amount and repaying it to the bank were meticulously worked out. The entire burden would be shoul– dered by the Carmelite Fathers of the Vicariate. Right from the start Mgr Hartmann showed himself to be greatly appre– ciative of the Carmelite Fathers. Recalling the missionaries who had been sent away by Mgr Whelan and reinstacing them in some of the key posts of which ·they had been divested, was a priority objective for him. He was into the bar– gain determined to reorganize the seminary and bode his time for the founcling of the college. It was with these ambitious plans in mind that he sought to pro– cure the services of the Jesuit Fathers. But his projects, however realistic and well-intentioned they might have bee~, would not find many ready takers among his own confrères. Rettospectively it may be said that his schemes were rather ahead of his time. In the area of evangelization the idea of having members of various re– ligious Orders working hand in band for a common goal was still being looked upon with scepticism. The accepted practice in the Missions was to enlist the service of a particular religious Order to take responsibility for an ecclesiastical unit. This pragmatic approach had the advantage of having the religious Supe– riors participate actively in the task of fincling out the personnel to man the Missions. But such a policy of exclusivism had its own limits, as it deprived the individua! Missions from benefiting from the specialised training and the tried and tested methodologies of the members of other Orders. The expression of diffidence by the Carmelite Fathers in welcoming other religious into their Vi– cariate would soon be replicateci with force right in Bombay when the Capu– chins and the Jesuits faced the prospects ofworking together.
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