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Pope prays for inter-religious dialogue

George Varghese in New Delhi

It was a sea of humanity this morning at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium where Pope John Paul II celebrated the Holy Mass and called for a fruitful dialogue leading to a new relationship of understanding and solidarity among the followers of all religions in the coming century.

More than 70,000 people from various parts of Asia and different faiths attended the papal Mass and related programmes, which lasted about three hours.

In a unique step, a special adaptation for India, a triple aarati, was held along with the Holy Mass. These were a pushp aarati (waving a tray of flowers with a deepak in the centre), a dhoop aarati (homage of incense), and deep aarati (homage of light waving a camphor fire) to the accompaniment of a Tamil song and the ringing of bells.

There was deafening applause when the Pope concluded his English discourse with a greeting in Hindi: Sab ko aashirvaad. Bharat ko aashirvaad. Shanthi [Bless all. Bless India. Peace.]

The Pope started his homily by recalling that India is celebrating the Festival of Lights today and saying that "we rejoice with them, and in this Eucharist here in New Delhi, we too exult in the light and bear witness to the one who is the true light that enlightens every man".

Referring to the synodal apostolic exhortation, Eccelsia in Asia, released by him last night at the end of the year-long Bishops' Synod for Asia, the pontiff said that it was fitting that this document had been signed and issued in India, the home of many of Asia's time-honoured cultures, religions and spiritual traditions.

These ancient Asian civilisations have shaped the lives of the people of this continent and left an indelible mark on the history of the human race, he said.

He greeted all the religious representatives present in the stadium with esteem and friendship and said he was dreaming and hoping that the next century would be a time of fruitful dialogue, leading to a new relationship of understanding and solidarity among the followers of all religions.

His Holiness said a major challenge before Christians was to bring the light of the gospel to bear on the family, and on the defence of human life and dignity. There has been enormous economic and technological progress, but there still exist situations of extreme poverty and injustice.

The Synod echoed the cry of ancient prophets, the cry for justice, for the right ordering of human society, without which there can be no true worship of god, he said. "The Church looks to the lay men and women of Asia to reflect the light of Christ wherever the darkness of sin, division, and discrimination distorts the image of god in his children," the 79-year-old pontiff said.

The 2000th anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ should show our "conversion to the light and our efforts to restore equity and to advance justice at every level of society", the Pope said.

"The world will only be transformed if men and women of goodwill, and whole nations, genuinely accept that the only path worthy of the human family is the path of peace, of mutual respect, understanding and love, and solidarity with those in need," he said.

The Pope also paid rich tributes to Mother Teresa and wanted the Church not to forget her witness of evangelical love, particularly for the poor and the depressed. She loved India and she is with the people of India forever, the pontiff said.

Resplendent in white and golden robes, the Pope celebrated the Holy Mass, delivered a homily and discourse, gave the Holy Communion to 30 disabled and less fortunate persons, and presented copies of the synodal exhortation to 32 representatives of the church. Hundreds of priests went around the gathering and gave the Holy Communion to Catholics.

Petitions in seven Asian languages were presented, offering prayers to the Pope, the people of Asia, priests and for all those who are in need of care and service. These were in the Philippine, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Indonesian languages. The Chinese language prayer was for all those who are celebrating the Festival of Lights, Diwali.

Though it was announced that the Pope would go around the stadium greeting the faithful at the end of the ceremonies, the plan was cancelled at the last minute.

Earlier, the cardinals were ushered in by students of Jesus and Mary College. The Pope lighted five candles and gave it to others who subsequently lit a large number of candles held by the cardinals, archbishops and bishops.

As the choir sang the offertory hymn, representatives from different parts of Asia carried their gifts to the altar, accompanied by a dance. The altar was prepared by deacons and acolytes.

The Holy Father then prayed: "Accept, O Lord, the gifts which we have placed on your altar on behalf of your people, may they be the expression of our dedication to your majesty, and help us to radiate the light of your presence among men."

UNI

The Pope's Visit

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