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Amid rising accusations against the Catholic Church’s aggressiveness in seeking souls in countries like India, the Vatican recently reaffirmed that it has every right to spread its message and accept converts.
In a report, the Vatican also reaffirmed that non-Catholics must never be forced to embrace the Christian faith.
The Vatican's doctrinal office issued guidelines on the missionary policy of the Roman Catholic Church last Friday, saying there is "growing confusion which leads many to leave the missionary command of the Lord unheard and ineffective."
"Often is it maintained that any attempt to convince others on religious matters is a limitation of their freedom," stated the document issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
U.S. Cardinal William Levada, who heads the office, told press at a Vatican news conference, however, that "work of evangelization belongs to the very nature of the church" and that it was both the "desire and duty" of Christians to share the gift of faith.
In the document, the Catholic Church also restated its position against forced conversions.
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The church body “severely prohibits forcing people to embrace the faith or leading or enticing them by improper technique; by the same token, she also strongly defends the right that no one be deterred from the faith by deplorable ill treatment," it stated.
Vatican's top Indian-born cleric, Cardinal Ivan Dias, said he believes the "vast majority" of Hindus – the largest religious group in India – will welcome the document.
"Most Hindus have a millenarian tradition of religious tolerance," said Dias, who heads the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples – the Vatican department in charge of missionary work.
Speaking at the news conference to present the document, Dias said Hindus "respect our honesty in declaring our beliefs about the founder (Christ) of our religion without attempting to dilute our message."
