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MUMBAI: “No violence against minorities. No
forced conversions. A pooling of resources for social
work and charity.’’ These were three main points agreed
on at a path-breaking Hindu-Catholic dialogue between
religious leaders from both creeds held in Mumbai on
Friday.
Those involved in the landmark two-hour inter faith
conversation that took place behind closed doors at the
Shanmukhananda premises near Sion included the
Sankaracharya of Kanchi, Sri Jayendra Saraswati and
Catholic leaders led by the Vatican’s head for
interreligious dialogue, Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran, and
Cardinal Oswald Gracias from Mumbai.
The three meeting points came after intense discussions
on minority relations in the country which were once
harmonious but have been under strain and even marred by
serious violence (Khandamal in Orissa and church attacks
in Mangalore) in the last decade. The post-1998
deterioration had troubled many liberalminded citizens
from both faiths and this dialogue was an attempt to
break down suspicions and mistrust on either side.
The meeting took place at the instance of the Pontifical
Council for Inter Religious Dialogue headed by Cardinal
Tauran who said it was a good beginning.
Each side had one main concern: for the Catholics it was
violent attacks against Christians, the clergy and their
places of worship and on the Hindu side it was the issue
of forced conversions. Speaking at a joint press
conference soon after the talks, Jayendra Saraswati said
they had agreed that no violence should take place
against minorities as India was a deeply spiritual
country. He added that instead of being called
‘secular’, India should be called ‘spiritual’. Cardinal
Oswald Gracias, who addressed the press with Jayendra
Saraswati, came out strongly against forced conversions
and said it went against the teaching of the Church.
While the broad brush strokes were all about bonhomie
and building bridges, the fine print subtly but firmly
established orthodox boundaries. The Kanchi
Sankaracharya’s press statement that was issued later
contained eleven points, most of which were critical of
conversion. He made a reference to the Pope’s recent
visit to Israel and his assurance that “the Catholic
Church would desist from all missionary and conversion
activities among the Jews’’. The Sankaracharya also made
it clear that he did not approve of conversions and
foreign funds for running educational and charity
projects.
At the press conference, he came out strongly against
the US Commission on International Religious Freedom,
which was sending a team to India.
Speaking about the dialogue meeting, Bishop Thomas Dabre
of Pune said that Cardinal Tauran had spelt out the
agenda at the outset. How do we stop the spate of
violence across the country and work more for
understanding and development and deepen an interfaith
dialogue? Sudheendra Kulkarni, a senior BJP member who
was present, said these are “beginnings which will pave
the way for greater understanding’’.
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