Thrissur, India - The allegation that the Catholic Church in India used money for religious conversion has no basis and the 'misunderstanding' on the subject is mainly due to 'misrepresentation' of the concept of evangelisation, Vatican's envoy to India, Rev. Pedro Lepz Quintana, said today.
"The Church respects freedom of conscience. But it cannot refuse to accept anybody coming forward willingly to embrace Christianity. The charge that the Church is encouraging conversion by paying money is baseless and incorrect," the Papal Nuncio said.
The roblem arose from 'misunderstanding' or 'misrepresentation' of the concept of evangelisation. The true meaning of evangelisation was gospelisation and service of the poor and downtrodden, Rev Quintana, here in connection with the General Assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), said.
He said as far as he knew a majority of people in India were not opposed to the Church carrying on with evangelisation.
The 'freedom of conscience' and 'freedom of religious faith' were guaranteed in the Indian Constitution. But some groups were making a protest for their failure to properly understand the concept, he said.
He said India had a long history of religious harmony and this had been enshrined in the Constitution by its emphasis on secularism. "It is a wonderful aspect of the Constitution and the administrators have willingly adhered to it," he added.