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'Who's the VHP for the Pope?'

The Catholic Church on Saturday regretted the Indian government's decision not to telecast live on Doordarshan the holy mass to be addressed by Pope John Paul II on November 7.

The Church may again approach the government to allow live telecast of the mass as it is among the most important functions during the papal visit.

''Some 24 million Indian Christians, among them 16 million Roman Catholics, would have been able to participate in the mass if there were a live telecast. We may approach the government again to reconsider its decision,'' Catholic Bishops Conference of India spokesman Father Dominique Emmanuel said.

The matter came up for discussion at a meeting between ministry of external affairs officials and the Church in Delhi today. The latter were informed that both Doordarshan and the All India Radio would transmit live the inter-faith meeting to be addressed by the Pope on the evening of November 7 at Vigyan Bhawan.

AIR is awaiting clearance from higher-ups for broadcasting live the holy mass, scheduled at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, and a mass to be addressed by the Pope at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on the evening of November 6, Fr Emmanuel said.

Earlier, Kerala Congress MPs M J Varkey Mattathil and K Francis George had written to Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley to arrange a live telecast of the mass on Doordarshan.

However, the government has cleared private television channels for live telecast. Among those who have shown interest are Asianet, Surya TV, BBC and the European Broadcasting Union, Fr Emmanuel said.

Efforts are also on to put the event on the Internet, he added.

Fr Emmanuel ruled out any talks between the Pope and representatives of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal. Stating that the Pope would have neither the time nor perhaps the inclination for such discussions, Fr Emmanuel said: ''Who is the VHP for the Pope?''

As for repeated demands from Hindu fundamentalists for an apology to Goans, Fr Emmanuel said atrocities and persecution had been committed in the name of one religion against another all through history.

''We all need to seek pardon from one another,'' he said.

Responding to VHP chief Giriraj Kishore's terming the Pope a ''dacoit,'' Fr Emmanuel said, ''All I can say is forgive them my lord, for they do not know what they are saying or doing.''

UNI

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