Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Pope Francis at the Vatican on Saturday, where Modi invited the head of the Roman Catholic Church to visit India and the two leaders discussed the future of a post-Covid world and climate change among other issues at a meeting that went on for an hour beyond the scheduled 20 minutes.
Reports from Rome said the Pope accepted the invitation and if he does travel to India, it will mark the first papal visit after 1999 when the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the PM. The discussion and invitation are significant as they come against the backdrop of a heated debate over conversions between the right wing and church organisations in India and in the light of several BJP-governed states passing laws in this regard.
The meeting between Modi and the Pope will also be seen in the context of reports by Western agencies, both government and private, that religious freedom had declined in India and the government’s contention that its policies, which include several welfare measures, do not discriminate against any section.
The private meeting at the Apostolic Palace was described in a Vatican statement as a “brief” conversation. This was the first visit by an Indian PM to the Vatican in over two decades, the last being Vajpayee in 1999 when Pope John Paul II came to India.
Official sources said PM Modi has made the effort to connect with the Christian community. In February 2015, he addressed the celebration of the elevation to sainthood of Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Mother Euphrasia. He also attended the 90th birth anniversary celebrations of Joseph Mar Thoma on June 27, 2020.
The sources said Modi has taken up issues in his Mann Ki Baat as well, where he spoke of India handing over the holy relic or icon of Saint Queen Ketevan to Georgia by the foreign minister himself. “The ceremony, which took place in a very emotionally charged atmosphere, was attended by the President of Georgia, the Prime Minister, many religious leaders, and a large number of Georgians,” Modi had said. The Prime Minister has regularly spoken of the message of Christ in his radio talks and also dwelt on the legacy of people like Mother Teresa.”
