INDORE (Fides): “What surprised us positively is like a surprise from the Holy Spirit: so many people, so many non-Christians, who spontaneously appreciate Pope Francis as a man of dialogue, welcome, and compassion, have somehow changed their attitude towards us Catholics,” Bishop Thomas Mathew Kuttimackal of the Diocese of Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.
“Many non-Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs came to offer their condolences and express their solidarity” Bishop Kuttimackal said, adding, “Pope Francis’ approach has had a positive impact on our lives, in terms of coexistence with people of other faiths. And this is very important and a beautiful legacy in our diocese and in a state like Madhya Pradesh, where there are sometimes interreligious tensions, is very important and a beautiful legacy.”
The proportion of Christians in Madhya Pradesh, which has 72 million inhabitants, is small: less than 0.3 per cent compared to a national average of 2.3 per cent. Catholics in Indore, as in other dioceses in the central Indian state, watched the funeral Mass for Pope Francis on television and celebrated memorial Masses in memory of the late pope in their parishes.
Bishop Kuttimackal remarked, “We remember him as a shepherd of dialogue and mercy: our Catholic communities feel a sense of gratitude, also because they see how the pope’s words and gestures in recent years have touched hearts, even here in our area, which is so far from Rome and which Francis never visited in person.”
What surprised us positively is like a surprise from the Holy Spirit: so many people, so many non-Christians, who spontaneously appreciate Pope Francis as a man of dialogue, welcome, and compassion, have somehow changed their attitude towards us Catholics
Bishop Thomas Mathew Kuttimackal
Recently, tensions have also arisen in the state with radical Hindu groups accusing Christians and Muslims of “proselytism.” Radical groups sometimes accuse Muslims and Christians of converting members of tribal groups from lower castes using allegedly illicit means, such as money.
In Madhya Pradesh, a so-called “anti-conversion law” has been in force since 2021, which provides for penalties of up to 10 years in prison for those who use violence or deception to persuade people to convert to another religion.
In this context, “the faithful of Indore are experiencing the Holy Year as ‘pilgrims of hope’, also with a view to improving the climate of interreligious coexistence,” Bishop Kuttimackal said.
The evangelical message proclaimed and lived by Pope Francis is also represented in Indore by the Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace, a network of Catholic religious communities of men and women who are particularly committed to humanitarian issues and the “care of our common home.”
The religious are committed to implementing the “integral ecology” mentioned and described in Laudato Si’, starting from their closeness to the poorest and most marginalised communities, but also promoting respect for natural resources and the promotion and dissemination of sustainable lifestyles.
