Goa, Dec. 30 -- JOHN DAYAL

Pope Leo XIV may or may not be able to visit India in 2026. There are forces beyond religion and diplomacy that govern Papal visits to coun tries such as India. His prede cessor, the good Pope Francis, waited till his last illness ex pressing his hope he would be able to visit the country which has a huge population of practis ing Catholics second only to the Philippines in Asia. There was no guarantee that the repeat ed embrace by political leaders would at some stage metamor phose into an official invitation. Pope Leo, an American who has worked most of his life with the poor in south America, and has some potent collaborative pathways to empower the poor in the many countries of the global south, reaches out...