Goa
No official invitation given by PM to the Pope: Capt Viriato
There is a protocol to be followed to invite the Pope, says Capt Viriato Fernandes
MARGAO: South Goa MP Capt Viriato Fernandes has said according to his Delhi sources there has been no official invitation given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Pope Francis, to visit the Exposition of St Francis Xavier. He said since the Pope has a busy schedule, protocol has to be followed. There should be political will, Fernandes said.
His Holiness Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church
I can tell you categorically, from my sources, from my information in New Delhi, there was no official invitation given by the Prime Minister to the Pope. When he ( Prime Minister Modi) met him in Italy at the G20 summit, just telling the Pople come to India, that does not work. There is a protocol to be followed. An official invitation has to be sent. That has not been done.
Capt Viriato Fernandes, South Goa MP
Capt Viriato told O Herald and Herald TV that the Pope had come to East Asia, in the last few days. He was very close to India, why was he not invited? Viriato questioned. Even now it is not too late, an official invitation can be sent, but it is not clear whether it will be possible for him to come. There has to be a will. This will is not there in the present government, Capt Viriato said.