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Strategies & Market Trends : India Coffee House -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (9371)	11/5/1999 5:30:00 PM
From: JPR	Respond to of 12475

Pope John Paul II Arrives in India By HEMA SHUKLA .c The Associated Press NEW DELHI, India (Nov. 5) - Pope John Paul II arrived in India today to meet Asia's Roman Catholic bishops in a city where Hindu nationalists have burned him in effigy. The pope was met by the junior secretary for foreign affairs, Ajit Panja, and a group of Indian bishops. There were 100 plain-clothed security men, but no children or groups of Catholics to greet him, as on many previous travels during his 22-year papacy. It was one of his most low-key arrivals. The pope waved several times before his convoy drove into central New Delhi, where firecrackers exploded through the night, celebrating the Hindu festival of light, Diwali. The important Hindu holiday falls on Sunday, when John Paul will celebrate a Mass in the 70,000-seat Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. Hindu fundamentalists have staged marches and sit-ins in protest against the Pope's visit, calling for an apology for 16th-century killings by Portuguese colonialists during the Inquisition and demanding an end to conversions. Before John Paul left Rome early this morning for his second trip to India in 13 years, the Vatican called for 'collaboration' between Hindus and Christians - amid concerns over recent violence against India's Christian minority. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the moderate face of his Hindu nationalist party, is personally overseeing the extraordinary security measures for John Paul's visit. The anti-pope protests have been small but unsettling for Vajpayee since they come from among his bedrock supporters - Hindu conservatives - and at a time when India is trying to attract foreign investment. 'His visit is such a big event in my life,' said a woman named Chinammaraja, 38, who had come to pray at the Sacred Heart Cathedral today. Many Christians from around Asia were expected to travel to the Indian capital to attend the Mass, church officials said, and passes were being issued only after detailed checks. 'One can't just walk in and demand a pass for the holy Mass,' the Rev. Dominic Emmanuel, spokesman for the Delhi archdiocese, told The Indian Express newspaper. 'We have introduced a seemingly long and complicated process for security reasons.' He said about 65,000 passes had been given out. Police called in 3,500 extra paramilitary troops and ordered maximum security for all the venues on the pontiff's itinerary. Police warned parents not to bring small children to the Mass because milk bottles, water containers and handbags will be prohibited for security reasons. The visit has revived debate on conversions to Christianity in this overwhelmingly Hindu nation of nearly 1 billion people. Christians make up only 2.3 percent of the population. In addition to seeking an apology for the 16th-century killings, Hindu groups also want the pontiff to declare that Christianity is not the only path to salvation. The U.S. State Department and human rights groups have expressed concern about attacks on Christians in India and growing opposition from some Hindu groups to Christian missionary work. In the last year, dozens of prayers halls and church properties have been damaged in protest against conversions, and a Protestant missionary and a Catholic priest have been killed. The revival of religious fundamentalism in India 'is an ever more aggressive and worrying phenomenon, a serious threat to the church and Catholics,' said the Vatican's missionary news agency, Fides. John Paul, now in the 22nd year of his papacy, has made interreligious dialogue a principal theme as his church prepares to mark the start of Christianity's third millennium. 'Drawing on the spiritual themes we have in common and opening our hearts to the divine reality beyond us, our collaboration can do much to alleviate the suffering in our world,' the Vatican said in a conciliatory message to Hindus on the eve of the trip.

To: Mohan Marette who wrote (9371)	11/5/1999 7:43:00 PM
From: Mohan Marette	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12475

VHP demands withdrawal of foreign missionaries Posted November 5, 1999 New Delhi, November 5: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) on Friday put a new demand before Pope John Paul II asking him to withdraw all foreign missionaries from India besides tendering an apology for alleged atrocities by the church during Portuguese rule in Goa and other parts of the country. Alleging that foreign missionaries funded by the international church groups are backing terrorist activities in the north-east and indulging in conversions through inducements, VHP general secretary Acharya Giriraj Kishore said, -the Pope should withdraw all foreign missionaries from our soil. Indian Christian missionaries are competent to do their job. Addressing reporters on the day of the Pontiff's arrival, the VHP leader alleged, "extremist groups in the north-east are being financially supported and encouraged by the church." The Acharya quoted a statement by the then Union minister of state for Home Affairs Mohammad Maqbool Dar in the Lok Sabha in December, 1996 to substantiate his charge. The VHP leader accused the church of 'racial discrimination' for stating that the inquisitions in Europe were different from those in India and reiterated the demand for a Papal apology on the issue. He, however, welcomed a reported statement by the church that it was willing to discuss the issue of conversion with VHP. india-today.com