Vatican’s Diwali greeting for Hindu community bears a sore message. In its Diwali message, Vatican loud for the ‘peaceful coexistence and integral human development’ but makes an adversary explanation on ‘Freedom of Religion’ stating that “It (Freedom of Religion) includes the freedom to change one’s own religion’.”
Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, has written a message to Hindus for the feast of Diwali. The message, which also bears the signature of Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, secretary of the pontifical council, is entitled, ‘Christians and Hindus, together in Promoting Religious Freedom’.
The Message says that, Diwali celebrates the victory of truth over falsehood, of light over darkness, of life over death, of good over evil.
This message further gives explanation on the concept of ‘religious freedom’ saying that it has got in centre stage in many places, calling our attention to those members of our human family exposed to bias, prejudice, hate propaganda, discrimination and persecution on the basis of religious affiliation.
Message claims that religious freedom is the answer to religiously motivated conflicts in many parts of the world. Amid the violence triggered by these conflicts, many desperately yearn for peaceful coexistence and integral human development’.
The message continues and comments that the Religious freedom is numbered among the fundamental human rights rooted in the dignity of the human person. When it is jeopardised or denied, all other human rights are endangered. Religious freedom necessarily includes immunity from coercion by any individual, group, community or institution. Though the exercise of this right entails the freedom of every person to profess, practise and propagate his or her religion or belief, in public or in private, alone or in a community, it also involves a serious obligation on the part of civil authorities, individuals and groups to respect the freedom of others. Moreover, it includes the freedom to change one’s own religion’.
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Vatican’s history of forceful conversions and lethal atrocities on Hindus by Christians Missionaries in India from 16th Century suggests that the greeting contains a message which clearly bears its resolve to encourage Hindu community to express its ‘freedom of Religion’ which in Vatican’s term is actually the ‘Freedom to change one’s own religion’.
