India’s prime minister urged to invite pope to visit

India’s prime minister urged to invite pope to visit
Archbishop Andrews Thazhath with Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 21 December 2022. Photo: UCAN/supplied

NEW DELHI (UCAN): Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India [CBCI], urged prime minister, Narendra Modi, to invite Pope Francis to visit the country during a meeting in New Delhi on December 21, repeating a request made by his predecessor Oswald Cardinal Gracias of Bombay.

Archbishop Thazhath, who was elected CBCI president in November at a biennial meeting in Bangalore, also conveyed Christmas greetings to the prime minister on behalf of the Church in India, said a December 21 press release issued by the bishops’ conference.

Modi replied that “he had already invited Pope Francis to India” and repeated the invitation to the pope “again personally when he met Pope Francis at the Vatican” on 31 October 2021.

“The PM said that he would continue to invite Pope Francis and try to bring him to India,” the release said.

The prime minister also assured the archbishop that he would continue to support minorities, the release said, adding that Archbishop Thazhath requested Modi to address the plight of Christians who are facing increased persecution.

The meeting was also attended by federal ministers, V. Muraleedharan and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who have political links to Kerala state, the base of Archbishop Thazhath.

Modi, who attended the G20 summit in Rome in October last year, met Pope Francis at the Vatican and asked him to visit India. After the brief meeting, the prime minister posted on social media that he “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.”

Pope Francis has said he wants to visit India. The Vatican had even drafted a schedule for a papal trip several years ago, according to news portal Crux.

The last papal visit to India was made by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

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