Any attack on “Indian spirit” can damage the age-old secular fabric of the country, warns Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa.

The prelate was addressing the annual civic reception on the occasion of Christmas in Panaji, the state capital. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and several ministers were present on the December 27 program.

Although the archbishop did not refer to any political issue, his remarks came amid the raging controversy over the amended Citizenship Act. Anything that vitiates the genuinely “Indian spirit” can damage the “centuries-old secular fabric of our nation,” he said.

“Sometimes, it (attack on Indian spirit) causes disturbances and flare-ups that can mar the peace and the tranquillity among its citizens,” the archbishop said.