The hug unplugged

By chhotebhai

Kanpur, Nov 3, 2021: Has Pope Francis sold his soul to the devil? Oops sorry, I meant Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Christians in India awoke on October) 31 morning to see screaming headlines accompanied by a large photograph of Pope Francis and Narendra Modi hugging each other.

It evoked mixed reactions. Going by those in the Catholic media it would seem that Pope Francis had lost it, by conceding so much public space to the ever camera ready Modi.

I read and study what Pope Francis says. I also get daily bulletins from Rome. Pope Francis has his head and heart in the right place. He is not a fool or a coward to be carried away by photo ops with Modi. He would have done his homework thoroughly before the meeting, as evidenced by his gift of a medallion for Modi’s mother. A prominent Catholic leader, in a recent article, has gone to the extent of questioning Pope Francis’ commitment and concern for the Christian community in India!

Why are we getting panicky? I feel that some of these erudite commentators are like frogs in the well telling whales how to swim in the mighty ocean. To unplug the significance of the hug we need to study the dramatis personae.

Anybody who has been closely following this pontificate, as I certainly have been, would vouch for Pope Francis being a genuine person. He is straightforward, not a soft diplomat. If left leaning Christians in India are aghast at this meeting we have the right wing in the USA who were even more aghast at his meeting with Joe Biden, calling him a good Catholic, and for not calling him out for his party’s pro-choice (read pro-abortion) stance. Pope Francis, like Jesus himself, has his fair share of critics because he is not a status quoist.

Look at some of his recent high profile engagements. A couple of years ago he met the Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyab of the Al Azhar mosque, Cairo, Egypt; during his Abu Dhabi visit. This mosque is considered the greatest seat of learning for the Sunni Muslims. This March, during his visit to Iraq, he met the 90-year-old Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Al-Hussayni Al-Sistani, the head of the Shia Muslims, in Najaf.

Not standing on ceremonies, Francis took off his shoes to enter the Ayatollah’s house as per their custom. He is only following in the footsteps of his mentor, St Francis of Assisi, who at the height of the Crusades, walked all the way to Egypt to meet Sultan Malik-el-Kamil, the leader of the Saracens (Muslims).

Lest Christians from Sister Churches (I detest the British era term “denominations”) feel left out, recall that he warmly embraced (emphasis embraced) Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew and welcomed the head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury to his recent inter-religious meet.

I will rest my defense of Pope Francis with two quotes from his encyclical Fratelli Tutti. “Myopic, extremist, resentful and aggressive nationalism are on the rise … Love, justice and solidarity are not achieved once and for all; they have to be realized each day (FT 11). And again, “The best way to dominate and gain control over people is to spread despair and discouragement, even under the guise of defending certain values” (FT 15). Francis’ words are equally applicable to the despairing frogs in the well as to the photo optic whales in the ocean.

Now to the other persona – Modi. It is common knowledge that he is inordinately camera conscious, even pushing away those who block the view. The classic example is of his donning saffron robes to meditate in a temple cave in Kedarnath on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections in 2019. Since electioneering had stopped he found an excellent way to say everything without opening his mouth. We cannot fault him for his astuteness.

Writing in the Indian Express on the day that the photo-op appeared, Liz Mathew wrote that the BJP was eyeing its voter base in Goa and Manipur (both due to go to the polls shortly) as also Kerala and the North East. Which politician is not looking for such opportunities? Critics of the Congress could say the same for Priyanka Gandhi shedding crocodile tears for the slain farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri.

The editor of the Satyadeepam, a Catholic journal from Kerala, was critical of the meeting. Father Suresh Mathew, editor of Indian Currents, asked the Pope to shed diplomacy and express concern for religious freedom and human rights. These worthies have been quick to judge the Pope. The only ones who have expressed unabashed support are the Catholic bishops of Kerala who have hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the recent past.

Unfortunately, while the government of India has assiduously issued statements of what transpired at the hug, obviously emphasizing climate change and Covid; there is no official communique from either the Vatican or the Nunciature in India. This is where they can be faulted; resulting in all kinds of conjectures in the Christian community in India.

All we heard was about the inscription on the bronze plaque prepared by artist Daniela Fusco that the Pope presented to Modi. It read “The wilderness will become a fruitful field” (Is 32:15). It is indicative of the transition “from selfishness to sharing, from war to peace, the change that takes place when men and women open their hearts to the authentic values of growth and social harmony”. We do not know how forcefully the Pope put this message across to Modi.

For me the more worrying issue is Modi’s invitation to the Pope to visit India, an invitation that was graciously accepted. This is where I am uncomfortable. By virtue of the official invitation this automatically becomes a State visit, replete with a ceremonial Guard of Honor and State protocol. I have always found this abhorrent.

Even well meaning Hindus question why such preferential treatment should be accorded to one who is essentially a religious, not political leader? The Vatican City State is just a consequence of history from the last century and should not be given over-arching consideration.

This aberration was further heightened when Pope John Paul II paid his second visit to India in 1999, for the release of his encyclical “Ecclesia in Asia”. His grossly insensitive remark that the third millennium was for the conversion of Asia, well and truly set the cat among the pigeons. How could he have been so naïve? I don’t blame the Hindus for faulting a state guest for making such a statement at Government expense.

I equally fault the CBCI for earlier going to the Prime Minister literally begging him to invite the Pope to India. Why couldn’t the CBCI invite the Pope as a religious leader, minus all the state protocol? That would have greatly reduced the antagonism to a papal visit.

Another noteworthy point. Nobody has taken cognizance of Ajit Singh Doval, the former master spy, and now National Security Advisor, being part of the Indian delegation to the Vatican. What was his role when no security threats were involved? He is believed to be the master strategist (other than poll management that is Amit Shah’s role). It is he who plans the much touted “surgical strikes”. Remember that Modi asked for the meeting with the Pope. He again made the surprising announcement of the invitation to India, catching our bishops red faced with their red skull caps and sashes! Another master stroke from Doval.

If on the one hand Christian leaders in India have been caught off guard by the hug; then so has the RSS and Hindutva brigade, that immediately linked the invitation to a moratorium on religious conversions. The hug is over. Let us now see how the proposed papal visit unfolds.

Political gainsaying apart, I personally feel that the Pope’s sincerity and charisma may have touched our Prime Minister. Post the hug, it will be difficult for the so-called fringe elements to tom-tom their bugbear on conversions. Watch this space.

(The writer is the convener of the Indian Catholic Forum. He may be contacted at noronha.kp@gmail.com 9415130822.)