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'Vatican's Sad About The Attacks'

Director of the press, Vatican City, Dr Joaquin Navarro-Valls, talks about Pope John Paul II's visit to Janaki B. Kremmer:

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'Vatican's Sad About The Attacks'
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How does the Vatican react to continuing atrocities on Christians here?

The Vatican's sad and preoccupied with the continuing atrocities on Christians in India, as is the rest of the world. Today, there's a need for all religions to collaborate in the cause of humanity. As Mahatma Gandhi, father of the Indian nation and apostle of non-violence, said: "The law of love governs the world... Truth triumphs over untruth. Love conquers hate..." It was John Paul II who repeated these words on his first trip to India in '86. One can't imagine a few extremists can break India's long tradition of tolerance. It's only through peace and justice, and the help of God, that a better India and a better world can be constructed.

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There are few Christians in India's one billion. Does it worry you?

As you know, Catholics in India are a minority of only 2.4 per cent of the total population. But their small numbers haven't prevented them from contributing to Indian society. For example, the Catholic Church runs 7,570 kindergarten and nursery, 14,638 primary and 9,414 secondary schools, 480 colleges, 63 medical and nursing colleges and 6 engineering schools.

Does the Vatican have a solution for India's population problem?

Population policy is not about numbers but about human beings. There are variants, not simply from continent to continent, but from one region to another. In India, the average density of population is 283 per sq km; in Japan it's 331; in the Netherlands, 379. Population policy is only one aspect of overall development strategy. True development can't consist in the simple accumulation of wealth and greater availability of goods and services, but must consider the social, cultural and spiritual dimension of the human being.

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