Catholic, RSS leaders meet

By Our SpecialCorrespondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 21. Catholic and RSS leaders today came face-to- face for a dialogue in an effort to remove misgivings. The RSS was represented by its chief, Mr. K.S. Sudarshan, its chief spokesman, Mr. Madan Vaidya, and another senior member, Dr. S. Shastri; the Catholic Bishop Conference of India was represented by its secretary-general, Archbishop Oswald Gracious, the senior vice-president, Archbishop Vincent Concessaro, Father Donald D'Souza and Father Domminic Emmanuel. The tete-a-tete took place at the CBCI headquarters. The Christian fathers have agreed to return the visit.

It may be recalled that the ``suggestion'' was first made by the Prime Minister after the Graham Staines' tragedy that there should be a dialogue between the two communities. The idea has been doing the rounds for a while now and today's meeting was agreed upon much before Mr. Vajpayee made his controversial remarks last week about the Christian missionaries. The meeting came about despite the Prime Minister's unsavoury remarks and despite considerable misgivings among the church leaders.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Front Page
Previous : LS nod for Bill on freezing seats
Next     : India to stay away from Asian championship