Pope Francis “is very popular in Asia, a continent where two-thirds of humanity lives. Among the Catholics… I would say he has a very, very high rating, over 90% accept-ance. Among other Christians, he has also a high rating; they are very appreciative of him, sometimes I’ve even heard them say, ‘He is our Pope too.’ Among the non-Christians, even some may know about him, some may not have heard of him or may not know enough, but he comes out as a good strong, moral influence; his position on climate change has made an impression on people; and he’s known to be a person who reaches out to those on the peripheries and that’s made an impression too.” On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the election of Pope Francis, that is the assessment of Cardinal Oswald Gracias, 73, the first church leader ever to head the Catholic Church in Asia and in India at the same time.
In this exclusive interview he also talked about the possibility of the Pope visiting India and China, as well as the work of the Council of Cardinal advisers.
“I see the Pope can really touch the heart of Asia, a continent where the people are basically spiritual even though they are now also becoming somewhat secularized.”
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi told us he would very much like for the Pope to come. The difficulty is to find an appropriate time, partly because many other distinguished people are coming and because we are having so many elections. The Holy Father would not want to get involved in local politics. So, we are trying to find a time that is neutral for him to come, without people instrumentalizing his visit. I am hopeful that in 2018 we will be able to arrange this visit, maybe between September and November.”
“I am almost confident that he’s coming to India. When you speak of China, I see a glimmer of light, of this possibility. It’s not ruled out; his desire to go is strong.” “We’re coming to the end of one project—the reform of the Roman Curia. I hope we can finish it this year.”
