Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent meeting with Pope Francis in Italy has given fresh hope to the Christian community here that the Roman Catholic Church leader’s long-awaited visit to India will finally fructify. This optimism is based on official reports that Mr Modi invited the Pope to visit India even as a photograph of the two exchanging a warm hug went viral. However, sceptics in the Christian community are convinced there will be no forward movement on the papal visit, for this is not the first time that Mr Modi has invited him.
A similar invitation was extended to Pope Francis when Mr Modi called on him at the Vatican in 2021. But nothing came of it even though the Pope has visited countries in the Indian neighborhood twice over the past few years. Insiders in the Christian community maintain the Vatican is keen on a papal visit to India but the Modi government has not evinced much interest in following up on the Prime Minister’s invitation.
The Modi government apparently is ambivalent on this issue as it is not sure about the reaction of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and its other affiliate organisations which had objected to the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1999 when Atal Behari Vajpayee was Prime Minister. It is an acknowledged fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi prefers not to share the stage with anyone else. He also likes to be centrestage at all public functions, big or small.
But the situation .