Card. D’Rozario: Pope’s visit will be a
"pilgrimage to the soul of Bangladesh"
Bangladesh’s
prominent Catholic Church leader regards the apostolic visit of pope Francis to
the country as a “pilgrimage to the soul of Bangladesh”.
At the same time it is also the pilgrimage of the people to their guest, Cardinal
Patrick D’Rozario, Archbishop of Dhaka, explained to Vatican Radio in an
interview ahead of the Nov. 30 to Dec.
2 papal trip, after the Pontiff visits neighbouring Myanmar, Nov 27 to
30.
With over 86% of its estimated 156 million population (2016)
adhering to Islam, Bangladesh is home to the world’s 4th largest
Muslim population after Indonesia, Pakistan and India.
Around 10% of the people are Hindus, and Christians and Buddhists make up less
than 1 percent each of the population. As of 2016, there are some
350,000 Catholics, or approximately 0.2 percent of the population.
To know more about this visit of Pope Francis to the
overwhelmingly Muslim nation, we called Cardinal D’Rozario on the phone.
Speaking from his office in Dhaka, the cardinal, who is the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh (CBCP),
explained what the Catholic Church of Bangladesh and the nation expect from
Pope Francis and his visit.
Card. D’Rozario first spoke about what the Church expects
from the papal visit. First of all, he said, it will be “a
pilgrimage of the Holy Father to all the people of Bangladesh – a pilgrimage to
the “soul of Bangladesh”. Secondly, it will be a pilgrimage of
the people to the Pope - to see him, meet him, listen to him and be
near him. This, the cardinal said, they will do by praying and
worshipping together on the same ground. The Pope’s programme includes the
ordination of 16 sons of the soil to the priesthood and meetings with bishops,
clergy, religious and lay people.
Regarding what the nation expects from the Pope’s visit, the
Archbishop of Dhaka pointed to three areas. Besides being a spiritual
leader, the Pope is also the head of Vatican City State. In this regard,
he said, the Pope’s visit will be a celebration of diplomatic
relations between the two states, which was established 46 years ago, soon
after Bangladesh’s independence. This relationship, the 74-year old cardinal
said, is “very unique…. mainly based on human, ethical and spiritual values.”
The Pope’s visit will also be a “celebration of harmony”
of Bangladesh’s culture, as indicated by the logo and theme of the papal visit,
“Harmony and Peace”. Cardinal D’Rozario said there will be a gathering of
people of other religions and other Christian denominations. It will also be a
“celebration of harmony of inter-religious relationship” involving young people
in festive mood.
Thirdly, the papal visit will also be an encounter
between the Pope and the poor of Bangladesh, some of whom, the cardinal
explained have rich evangelical values. The visit will provide Pope
Francis with an opportunity to listen to the voice of the country’s poor and
take it to the whole world, especially regarding issues such as climate
change, human rights and Rohingya refugees.
Card. D’Rozario also said that during his visit to
Bangladesh, Pope Francis will recognize the achievements of Bangladesh that
is “now considered a role model for development.”
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