PM interacts with three Cardinals of Catholic Church

Prime Minister NarendraModi on Tuesday interacted with three Cardinals of theCatholic Church on various issues being faced by the Christiancommunity in the country. In a tweet Modi said: ''Interacted with Mar GeorgeCardinal Alencherry (Major Archbishop of the Syro-MalabarChurch), Cardinal Oswald Gracias, (Archbishop of Bombay andPresident of CBCI), and His Beatitude Baselios CardinalCleemis (Major Archbishop-Catholicos of the Syro-MalankaraCatholic Church).

After meeting the prime minister at his office inNew Delhi, the Cardinals described the talks as ''very positiveand friendly'' and added ''there is no enmity between thegovernment and Christian community.'' They said their interaction with the primeminister was not a political one and Modi told them that ''thisis your home and anybody can come here'' for dialogue.

The top Catholic priests said they see it as ''arefreshing expression from the part of the government.'' ''It was very positive...He was relaxed andhe was friendly also,'' Cardinal Oswald Gracias told reportersafter meeting Modi.

Cardinal Gracias said during the interactionthey ''mentioned'' tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamysarrest.

The prime minister was ''sympathetic'' but he said''the government does not want to interfere too much in theworking of investigation agencies.'' Swamy is an accused in the Elgar Parishad-Maoistlinks case.

Swamy, 83, who is suffering from various healthissues including Parkinson's disease, was arrested by NIA onOctober 8 last year.

A church spokesman said Modi respondedpositively to the church's long standing demand for extendingan invitation to the Pope to visit India.

''He (the prime minister) may be looking for anappropriate time,'' Cardinal Alencherry said responding to aquery on the demand placed before the prime minister.

The Cardinals also requested the prime ministerabout an equitable distribution of the minority funds.

''The PM said he will look into the ways and means ofdoing it in a just way,'' they said.

During their interaction with Modi, they alsoraised the issue of difficulties faced by people living inhigh ranges, part of Western Ghats in Kerala, due to man-animal conflicts and implementation of variousenvironmental laws in the ecologically sensitive areas in thehills.

They also raised the Church's long standingdemand for reservation for Dalit Christians.

The Catholic priests thanked Mizoram Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai for organising the interaction with theprime minister.PTI TGB BNWELCOME BNWELCOME