Pope John Paul II has told India’s bishops that missionary activity should focus on converting people to Christianity. The Pope’s words came as the subcontinent’s most prominent Hindu organisation repeated its claims that the Pope is interfering in India’s affairs. It is the second time in recent weeks he has been criticised by Hindu nationalists.
On 3 July, the Pope told bishops on their ad limina visit to the Vatican that Christianity separated from a proclamation of Jesus as the only Saviour "is no longer Christian".
"Any theology of mission that omits the call to a radical conversion to Christ and denies the cultural transformation that such conversion will entail necessarily misrepresents the reality of our faith, which is always a new beginning in the life of him who alone is the way, the truth and the life", John Paul II said.
The Pope cited "ample evidence" in the bishops’ reports that the Church’s missionary efforts in India were taking root. He noted numerous adult baptisms despite social obstacles faced especially by aspiring converts who are poor, the high percentage of Catholics who attend Sunday Mass, and increasing numbers of laity "properly participating" in the liturgy.
The issue of conversions is controversial in India, where right-wing Hindu organisations accuse Christians of seeking to convert Hindus by force. Six states have passed conversion laws, which Hindu groups say protect poor Indians against forced conversions and which Christians say are discriminatory and curtail religious freedom. Last month, the Pope expressed his concerns about India’s conversion laws, provoking a barrage of criticism from Hindu groups and a prominent politician.
At its annual gathering earlier this month, India’s most prominent right-wing Hindu group again accused the Pope of interfering in Indian affairs. The Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS), which has close ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which leads the country’s coalition adminstration, demanded that the central government "lodge a protest" with the Pope. It warned that India’s legacy of tolerance should not be construed as a licence to others "to infringe on our national ethos and disturb peace". The issue dominated discussionsat the group’s two-day meeting in Kanyakumari, a town on India’s southernmost tip.
In Rome, Archbishop Ignatius Pinto of Bangalore told the Pope that many non-Christians in India "would love to come into the fold, but the fear of social ostracism, deprivation of hereditary rights and privileges and other similar benefits keep them from embracing Christianity".
Christians account for two per cent of the overwhelmingly Hindu population of India