New Delhi, Apr 24 (PTI) The message of Pope Francis was that we must have interfaith understanding, dialogues and engagement with the spirit not just of tolerance but also in a spirit of accommodation and celebrating our diversity, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday as he paid tributes to the late Pope.

He also expressed grief over the Pahalgam terror attack.

Ramesh was speaking at an event to pay homage to the late Pope and to commemorate the 138th anniversary of the Malayalam newspaper Deepika.

Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88.

Secretary general, CBCI, Archbishop Anil Couto; Union minister George Kurian, CPI(M) MP A A Rahim and Kerala Congress (M) chief Jose K Mani, were also present at the event, which was attended by several religious leaders.

Ramesh recalled that the 38th International Eucharistic Congress was held in Bombay in 1964, for which Pope Paul VI came to India.

“This was the first papal visit to India, and this was the first time the International Eucharistic Congress was being held in a non-Christian country,” he said.

“This was the first time it was being held in a country in which the Christian population was not a very significant number. It’s a remarkable tribute to India’s founding fathers, to India’s singular values, to India’s Constitution, India’s leaders of that generation, that Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI decided that the International Eucharistic Congress would be held here,” he said.

Ramesh presented a photo from the time, which showed then vice president Zakir Husain and then prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri with Pope Paul VI.

“It’s a beautiful photograph that reflects what India is all about. This is December 2, 1964, in Bombay,” he said.

“This is India, ladies and gentlemen. Dr Zakir Husain, Pope Paul VI, Lal Bahadur Shastri, the prime minister. And I couldn’t find a more powerful photograph than this,” he said.

Ramesh said the legacy and values are under systematic assault from forces within and from forces outside.

“I think the life and message of Pope Francis is that we must have interfaith understanding, interfaith dialogue, interfaith engagement, but with the spirit, not just of tolerance, but in a spirit of accommodation and in a spirit of celebrating our diversity,” he said.

“So even though we are going through most troubled days, even though the long shadow of what happened in Pahalgam day before yesterday hangs over us,” he said.

Kurian also paid tributes to the late Pope.

“Pope Francis was the leader of humanity… because he accepted all religions, all faiths,” he said.

The Union minister lauded the Malayalam newspaper Deepika and said he was fond of reading novels published by them when he was young but the publication stopped when Emergency was imposed in 1975.

“That day changed my life, I became a politician. That is why I am a minister now. Since 1975, I have backed a political ideology that’s my conviction,” he said.

Rahim spoke on the freedom of the press and said there is “undeclared censorship”.

“We now live in an era of voluntary censorship,” he said.

Archbishop Couto called the late Pope a powerful voice in favour of peace.

“Together with you, I also mourn the loss of Pope Francis as we have heard the whole world is mourning his passing away because we have lost a voice, a powerful voice in the global state in favour of peace, of justice, of sisterhood and brotherhood of all, of an inclusive society, of unity and diversity and of the joy that should mark our lives always, the pure human joy and the love that should guide our thoughts, words, desires and deeds and especially as Christ our Lord has taught us,” he said. PTI AO KSS KSS