ELECTION 99
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Pope to usher Indian church into new millennium

George Iype in New Delhi

As Church preparations to welcome Pope John Paul II got into full swing, bishops, prelates and theologians are getting ready to accept the Church of the third millennium which they hope his visit would help usher in.

Church officials said during his meeting with the Asian Synod members in New Delhi's Sacred Heart Cathedral, the Pope will promulgate the document Ecclesia in Asia (the church in Asia) that will be the cornerstone of the Asian Church of the 21th century.

The Pope will stress three points in the document -- evangelisation through dialogue, inculturation and solidarity with the poor.

Church leaders who are closely associated with the Pope's visit said that the Synod participants and the Pope would interact on a number of burning issues which the Catholic church believes are dear to the survival and growth of Christianity in Asia.

On evangelisation in Asia, the Pope will lay emphasis on dialogue with the followers of the continent's prevailing religions. This approach, Church leaders hope, would undoubtedly promote tolerance and peace which are important aspects of the Christian religion.

The Asian Synod that took place last year in Vatican had emphasised that in Asia evangelisation is more a question of experience than of dogma and theology. "It is a very personal thing. The unspoken witness of Jesus Christ's disciples is the best way to spread the gospel among the peoples of Asia," it said.

As for inculturation, the Pope's declaration next Saturday evening will most probably note that for Christianity to survive and grow in Asia, it is essential that it be identified as an authentically Asian religion.

The Synod document last year had noted that "Asia should not just accept Christianity, but must actually incorporate it within herself." The Pope will also undoubtedly call upon the bishops to set clear guidelines for adapting the Christian message to Asia's cultures without compromising the integrity of the doctrine.

On continuing the Church's missionary work in Asian countries with full vigour, the Pope will stress that the Asian Church should renew its solidarity with the poor and ask for a more prophetic stand for oppressed and marginalised groups such as people belonging to low castes, the tribals, women, children and migrants.

The pontiff would also urge the Church leaders to reinvigorate the principles of humanity, freedom, equality and solidarity that are conceived to be fundamental parts of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.

Church sources said the papal document could also lay stress on the wide-spread discrimination and religious persecution that are on in many Asian countries like India, Pakistan, China, Vietnam, North Korea and the Middle East.

While all the Asian issues that are close to the Church and the Pope will be discussed threadbare during the Synod conclusion, Church leaders said it is "unclear and undecided" if the Pope would take up with President K R Narayanan and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee the increasing religious intolerance in India.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India president Archbishop Alan de Lastic refused to answer what the Pope would discuss with the President and the prime minister.

But the Archbishop said the Church does not sponsor any anti-Indian activity. "We love this country and its people whom we have been serving through our institutions for centuries. We hold that freedom of faith is the birthright of every Indian citizen," he said.

On the crucial conversion issue, Archbishop de Lastic said that "the church holds that no one can convert anyone." "Conversion is an internal free personal act and a forced conversion is a contradiction in terms," he added.

He said the Pope is coming to India as a messenger of peace and promoting harmony among religions is a subject to close to the heart of His Holiness.

"The enigma of Indian spirituality and asceticism has fascinated the Pope. Therefore, we hope the inter-religious dialogue that the Holy See will preside over would be a unique occasion to affirm once again the Church's commitment to unity of all religions," the Archbishop stated.

He said the Church's doctrine on world religions has been clearly stated during the Vatican Council in 1964. As a document of the Council says, "....prudently and lovingly, through dialogue and collaboration with other religions, and in witness to the Christian faith and life, to acknowledge, preserve and promote the spiritual and moral goods as well as the socio-cultural values, found in them."

The Pope's Visit

Tell us what you think of this report