Graci(ou)s cheers staff salary loot by Bishop Dabre

Unmesh Gujarathi
sproutsnews.com

Christians will tomorrow celebrate the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ being born in a lowly manger two thousand years ago. His message to followers was – to serve the poor, and lead simple lives.

However, Pope’s India Ambassador – Nunicio Leopoldo Girelli, Mumbai’s Archbishop Oswald Cardinal Gracias, and Pune’s Bishop Thomas Dabre have turned Jesus’s teaching on simple living and service to the poor on its head.

Sprouts SIT has a video clip of a public function in which Leopoldo and Gracias in October 21 are seen cheering Dabre receiving keys of a 17 lakhs plush Honda City car and a blank cheque as ‘gifts’ in his personal name from the staff of 17 schools that Pune Diocese owns and manages for completing 50 ‘golden’ years as a priest and 75 years ‘diamond’ Jubilee in life.

If Jesus were to come today again to visit his people during this Christmas, He is sure to be shocked that his followers like Leopoldo, Gracias, and Dabre did not even spare the already meager salaries of a poor school peon, a widow lady teacher and much more staff of their kind. Both have 25 years of service to their credit

During the peak Covid epidemic, Dabre deducted 25-50 percent salaries of school staff in the guise of fewer funds but the real reason was to gift himself the plush car and blank cheque.

The 77-year-old already retired Bishop Dabre is enjoying an extended tenure of two years courtesy of blessings of Godfathers Gracias and Leopoldo even gifted himself a blank cheque from another trust headed by him and tom tommed it as ‘love of his fellow priests (some of whom have gone without salaries for years) and which was all known to Leopoldo and Gracias.

The peon and teacher today filed affidavits supported with bank statements in the court of Joint Charity Commissioner, Pune exposing the falsehood of Dabre and Poona Diocesan Educational Society (PDES) who in an affidavit earlier had claimed that all dues of every staff member (teaching and nonteaching) of every school had been paid and that this allegation was – crocodile tears. The affidavits and bank statements though exposed who the real crocodiles were devouring salaries for carseva at 77.

The PDES is alleged to have illegally deducted 25 % of salaries during Covid despite Government orders to all employers to desist from such practice.

However, PDES despite even though the 25 % cut being a cruel and illegal activity in the first place, went to the extreme extent of cutting 50 % of the lady widow teacher’s salary for 3 of the 25 months. She had tragically lost her husband in 2017 during a heart transplant and after raising loans of 25 lakhs to save his life in which the school did not contribute a Rupee but contributed for Dabre carseva in lakhs.

The widow’s 25 months cut amounted to a staggering 3.87 lakhs of which only 2.05 lakhs were refunded and that too only after a hue and cry were raised by the affected staff.

The peon and teacher claimed that their arrears of Rs 27000/- and 1.81 lakhs respectively were still pending as of today while many more were suffering silently for fear of reprisal.

Readers will recollect that Sprouts had already highlighted earlier how Dabre was forced to surrender the 17 lakhs car gift to the Trust after a complaint was filed against him in the Jt. Charity Commissioner’s Court.

Dabre gave a lame-duck excuse of being deeply hurt by the allegations and at the same time contradicted his car surrender by stating that priests had contributed their salaries out of love and respect.

If Jesus were to visit the homes of the peon, widow, and other similarly affected staff on 25th December, He is sure to be shocked at how Leopoldo, Gracias, and Dabre have turned His simple living example into high fi extravagant modern Gurus lifestyle with a taste for luxury even if it means looting the very poor who are meant to be served.

It’s a real Merry Christmas and prosperous 2023 time for Dabre as Sprouts SIT has reliably learnt that he has bought another new car (IT, ED, and Police sure have a case on hand and Sprouts SIT will pass on this loot and scoot ‘love’ Guru of Jesus who is partying as never before till the Sun shines on his already extended tenure) having been forced to surrender the stolen one.

The only ‘ New Jesus Mantra’ for the trio of Leopoldo, Gracias, and Dabre seems to be – To Hell with the suffering poor victim staff, priests, and laity whose salaries and contributions Dabre seems to be splashing around for fantasies unlimited of an ageless, self-described highest religious person in the hierarchy (equating himself to Pope) all in the name of JESUS the poor carpenter’s son.