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Pope's visit might be restricted to Delhi

Josy Joseph in New Delhi

Pope John Paul II, head of the Roman Catholic Church, will be in India from November 5 to 8.

The Pope's visit could be restricted to Delhi, though the Vatican wants him to visit Calcutta, Bombay and south India. And he may not present his Apostolic Exhortation --- the initial purpose of his visit --- for marking the closure of a Synod of the Asian Bishops as it is expected to call for increased evangelisation, which is vehemently opposed by right wing groups.

According to information conveyed to the Vatican by the government of India, the Pope is being invited as a state guest for four days in November. A final confirmation of the John Paul II's itinerary in India will be worked out during the visit of an advance team from Vatican in September.

Offices of the President, the prime minister, minister of external affairs and other establishments concerned have been notified about the Pope's visit to India from November 5 to 8. "Only the final details need to be worked out now," government sources said.

According to available indications, the Pope's visit could be restricted to Delhi. The Vatican has requested the government to allow the Pope to visit Calcutta, Bombay and south India. While Calcutta has been selected due to a personal interest shown by the Pope to visit the late Mother Teresa's adopted home, the other two places are for marking some important occasions of the local churches.

A bitter war has already broken out between various church groups about the proposal for Pope's visit to South India. Sources confirmed that rival factions are fighting it out over the proposal --- while one is putting pressure on the Vatican for the Pope to visit south India, an equally powerful lobby in Delhi is opposing it.

A formal announcement of the Pope's visit to India is yet to be made by either the Apostolic Nuncio to India or the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. The delay in announcing the visit is being attributed by church sources on the fact that the recently appointed Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri is yet to present his credentials to President K R Narayanan. He is among the five diplomats currently waiting to present their credentials. The Indian church authorities do not seem ready to officially publicise the visit without the Vatican embassy making a formal announcement.

The Union government is not expected to announce the visit at this point of time as it can have multiple effects: it can be construed as a political move to placate the Christian community; on the other hand it can anger rabid elements of the Sangh Parivar.

India along with Hong Kong and Iran was considered by the Vatican for the Pope's visit, as he had to visit an Asian country before the year-end to present his Apostolic Exhortation to close the April-May 1998 Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Asia. With China opposing the Vatican proposal to visit Hong Kong, the chance fell on India.

The already published conditions put forward by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and other right wing groups that the Pope should not support evangelisation in India, and instead disown it, has alerted the Vatican, church sources said.

They did not rule out the possibility of Pope not presenting his Exhortation, which undoubtedly would have a call for augmenting evangelisation, in India. Indications are that he may take off for another Asian country from India. Kazakhistan is actively under consideration for the presentation of the Exhortation, sources said.

In fact government sources did not rule out the possibility of the Indian government putting up a condition -- that he should not make open call for evangelisation -- for the Pope's visit.

Though the BJP has officially said that it would not oppose the Pope's visit a section, which includes human resource development minister Murli Manohar Joshi, does. Senior party leader K L Sharma recently said that the impact of Pope's visit to India can be gauged only on the basis of what he says in India.

The VHP leaders have already written to the Union government opposing the visit of the Pope saying its purpose is to give impetus to conversions. The VHP leadership also has the support of other groups such as Bajrang Dal.

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