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556 BENEDICT VADAKKEKARA had his own doubts if these decisions would find favour with the general superiors in Rome 167 • Within days the Commissary took an about-tum vis-a-vis what had been decided at the meeting of the Regular Superiors. Convincingly he argued for the starting of the Study in the Friary of Mussoorie where all was in perfect readiness; instead, at Damaun everything had to be created from scratch. Mus– soorie represented that which was sure and certain while moving to Damaun was running too many risks. There was no guarantee that Damaun would provide the "necessary freedom and privacy'' needed for the Study. Apart from the enor– mous expenses, it would need one or two years for getting a house ready at Damaun and meanwhile the students had to be accommodated somewhere. Hence the Commissary requested the General for the go-ahead to provisionally move the clerics to Mussoorie 168 . It was only to be expected that the decisions of the Regular Superiors taken on 7 February would not be ratified by the Superiors in Rome. The reasons adduced by the Commissary were good enough for the Superiors in Rome to stick fast to what had already been worked out. Fr General was away from Rome and there were no grounds for rethinking on the plan he himself had approved. Only in case of its non-performance should a different arrangement be thought 0£ This explicit instruction forestalled the execution of the decision of the Regular Superiors to have the Study in Damaun 169 • It was to Fr Leo that Mgr Teixeira, the Administrator of the Diocese of Mylapore, offered the house with "two halls, a dining room and ten rooms and extensive land around and near with cajuarina plantations" on the seashore "at Kovelong some 15 miles south of Mylapore and within easy reach of Madras". 167 APCapBologna, Classe III, Serie 8 B. 7, le, Peter Mary to Provincial, Shampur 5 July 1924: "Si e deciso di aprire lo Studio di filosofia a Bombay e di Teologia a Mylapore. Approvera il P. Generale?" 168 AGCap G 68, II, Novizjato eStud.to, Fr Commissary to Fr General, Sardhana 27 Febru– ary 1924: "... mi permetto di chiedere umilmente se non fosse meglio di andare. a Mussoorie temporaneamente, cioe sino a che non sara pronto il convento di studio che si intende di costruire a Bombay. Vostra Paternita Rvma sa che !assn tutto e pronto e non vie altro che entrarci dentro". 169 AGCap G 68, II, Novizjato e Stud.to, Fr General Procurator to Fr Commissary, Rome 22 March 1924: "Come Le dicevamo nell'ult:ima nostra del 13 c.m., l'affare e di tale e tanta impor– tanza che merita gravissima ponderazione ed una risoluzione potra essere presa dopo che si sara dimostrato ineffettuabile assolutamente iI progetto gia combinato col Rev.mo P. Gene.rale, quello cioe di aprire Jo Studentato a Mussoorie".

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