The Goa church authorities have called for peace and restraint in the coastal state amid protests against former Goa Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Subhash Velingkar for his comments on St Francis Xavier.
The police cane-charged a group of protesters and detained five of them in Margao city of South Goa late Saturday night after they blocked a national highway demanding Velingkar's arrest, an official earlier said.
Protesters have appealed to like-minded people to gather in Margao as well as in Old Goa in North Goa district for an agitation on Sunday.
The sacred relics of St Francis Xavier, the patron saint of Goa, are kept at the Basilica Dom Jesus in Old Goa.
In a statement issued on Saturday evening, the Council for Social Justice and Peace executive secretary Fr Savio Fernandes said the Goan Catholic Community condemns Velingkar's "insulting and derogatory" statements.
The CSJP, which is a wing of the Goa Church, has urged the protesters to exercise restraint for the sake of peace and communal harmony.
"Velingkar's statements deeply hurt the religious sentiments not only of Catholics but also of so many people belonging to other faith communities who also revere the saint for having received numerous favours in their lives after praying to him," it said in the statement. -- PTI