The Pope has courted controversy with a seemingly disturbing comment, the merit of which has now been subjected to a political debate in the nation which houses countless communities and its faceless followers.
For starters Pope Benedict XV1 has expressed Vatican’s concern over the ban on conversions in some States in India. While the Pope’s concern stems from the fact that the right to convert a person of particular faith into another is a fundamental one, opponents of Pope on the issue see his remarks as an interference in India’s internal affairs.
While Pope as the head of the Church is entitled to have his views on an issue which has the Christian missionaries at its core, his credentials as the head of the State of Vatican makes the comment an interference in the country’s affairs. Diplomatic decency dictates that no head of state can make a comment which may have the potential to be seen as a peep into another country’s internal affairs. The Pope fumbled by doing exactly this..
The issue is that the Pope’s remarks came while India’s ambassador to the Vatican, Amitava Triparthi presented his credentials, which makes it an official statement.
If the Pope had such concerns, it should have been driven home through diplomatic channels in a subtle manner.
Now, what has happened is that the Pope has given anti-conversion elements in the country a stick to beat the Christian community as a whole. The age-old tool which was used against Muslims – The parochial notion that Muslims were less patriotic and tends to back their religious mentors across the borders rather than putting their pride in the country – will now be raked up against the Christian populace.
The danger with this argument is that it has the quality to sway liberal voices. For some patriotism is an elixir which blindfolds them. They tend to fall prey to the traps of propaganda if a right mix of patriotism is packaged in any debate of national significance.
The Pope has unknowingly given a trigger to the anti-conversion elements.
