The pope, 84, has been on record saying that he wants to visit India. The Vatican had even drafted a schedule for a papal trip several years ago, according to the religious news website Crux.
"Thank you very much for your visit. I'm happy, I'm very happy," a smiling Francis said as he grasped Modi's hand at the end of the visit, according to footage released by the Vatican.
Modi replied: "I would like to see you in India."
Francis, leader of the world's 1.3 billion Catholics, is hoping to push the defence of religious freedom in the world's second-most populous country. -- says a report in UCA News quoting AFP
New Delhi:
PM Narendra Modi joined the illustrious club of Jawaharlal Nehru, I K Gujral and Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had called on the Popes of their respective time during the visit to the Vatican City.
Ending speculation Mr Modi on Saturday invited Pope Francis, the head of Catholic global leadership, to visit India.
"Had a very warm meeting with Pope Francis. I had the opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues with him and also invited him to visit India," Modi tweeted.
There was also a bear hug !!
"A meeting that was scheduled only for twenty minutes went on for an hour!
PM Modi and the Pope discussed a wide range of issues aimed at making our planet better such as fighting climate change and removing poverty", an informed source said.
It has been argued in more ways than one that a well known Hindu zealot, Prime Minister Modi has been 'reluctant' to invite the head of the global Catholic Church to India.
India - of course a Hindu majority nation of 1.35 billion, houses about 30-32 million Christians.
Of them an estimated 60 per cent of whom are Catholics.
Modi's visit to the Vatican City came at a time when Christians as well as Muslims minorities in India have been complaining of harassment and assaults on the community and churches.
Beef eating, considered a normal and staple food for Christians and Muslims are discouraged by Hindu groups and often they have indulged in violence against the two religious minority groups.
However, there was enthusiasm when the news spread that PM Modi would be in the Vatican City to meet Pope Francis on the sidelines of his attending the crucial G-20 Summit.
Modi, who was at the receiving end of a campaign for being anti-Muslim, is in Italy at the invitation of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi for the G-20 Summit.
The president of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference, Cardinal George Alenchery, said that PM Modi's visit would “add more energy and warmth to the relations between our country and the Vatican and the Catholic Church”.
Prior to the meeting between PM Modi and the Pope, India's Foreign Secretary and a trusted aide of Modi in running the country's foreign policy, Harsh V Shringla, told reporters:"The Vatican has not set an agenda. I believe, tradition is not to have an agenda when you discuss issues with His Holiness. And I think we would respect that".
Shringla also has said - "I am sure the issues would cover a range of areas of interest in terms of the general global perspectives and issues that are important to all of us, COVID-19, health issues, how we can work together, how we can work together to maintain peace and tranquillity".
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Even in the past, Indian Prime Ministers including first PM Jawaharlal Nehru had met the popes.
Indira Gandhi, I K Gujral, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee (of Modi's BJP) had met the then Popes in the Vatican.
When Nehru visited Pope Pius XII in July 1955, there were some rows as the Indian government was facing protests from the Portuguese for its attempts to annex Goa.
Incidentally, in circa 2021, Modi's visit to the Vatican city has also come when provincial elections
are due in Goa by March 2022. Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is in power in the state and is facing stiff competition from Congress and other parties.
Incidentally yet again, the Congress, India's principal opposition party, is headed by Sonia Gandhi, a Catholoic born to Italian parents. She was married to Rajiv Gandhi, now deceased, who was grandson of India's first premier Nehru.
The Hindu groups are always 'suspicious' of conversion practices of Catholic leaders and various church bodies.
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| I K Gujral with Pope |
During the time of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Pope John Paul II’s second visit to India became controversial when Hindutva groups and Sangh Parivar outfits such as the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) and a hardliner Bajrang Dal staged noisy protests in Delhi and in various parts of India.
A C Michael, a prominent Christian leader, said in different context lately on conversion row: "The Christian community is not in the business of multiplying its numbers as the political parties are doing to capture power. We do share the Word of God as preached by Jesus Christ and if any finds it good and join the faith its one's wish as guaranteed in the Constitution of India.
"But there is no conversion taking place through fraudulent means or allurements.”
The Sikh religious body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) recently launched a campaign in Punjab "against Christian missionaries" allegedly luring Sikhs, but some observers see politics in the move ahead of next year’s state elections.
ends
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