Church wants to stop photography inside Bom Basilica
PTI, PANAJI | 04 November 2014 21:12 IST
To stop tourists from posing "inappropriately" at the Basilica of Bom Jesus, a major tourist attraction, the church authorities want to ban photography inside the premises.
The church has already begun strict implementation of dress code, with scantily dressed visitors being offered shawls to cover before entering.
The Jesuit Church situated at Old Goa, nine kilometers from Panaji, houses relics of St Francis Xavier, whose exposition would begin later this month and continue till January 2015.
"We have been receiving complaints from the parishioners. They have rightly pointed out that several tourists are posing in front of the relics as if they are standing in some garden. We have no problem if pictures are clicked of relics but people posing in front of them is not fair," Fr Savio Barretto, rector of the Basilica, told PTI.
As the Basilica authorities and Goa Church are gearing up for the decennial exposition of the relics, Barretto said the issue of banning photography would be taken up after the exposition.
"We have to consult agencies like Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and police before taking such a step," he said.
The Basilica, which is part of Old Goa Heritage monuments, is maintained by the ASI.
Barretto said the dress code has been strictly implemented in the Church.
At last. This is a religious place and sanctity must be maintained.
In the palace at Mysore, you have to enter barefooted. So why not in the Basilica?