Vatican City - The Vatican Monday urged religious tolerance in a greeting for the Hindu festival of Diwali which many of the estimated one billion followers of the world's oldest religion will celebrate on November 9. The message titled "Christians and Hindus: Determined to Walk the Path of Dialogue", was signed by the head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran.
"Dear Hindu Friends...I sincerely hope that your search for the Divine, symbolized through the celebration of Diwali, will help you overcome darkness with light, untruth with truth and evil with goodness," Tauran wrote.
Diwali which is also known as the Festival of Lights is commemorated by many Hindus - some 890 million of whom live in India - with lit lamps in honour of Lord Rama the legendary ancient Indian king.
"Belief and freedom always go together. There can be no coercion in religion: no one can be forced to believe, neither can anyone who wishes to believe be prevented from doing so," Tauran said in the message.
While Christians make up a tiny minority of India's estimated population of one billion they enjoy a high profile thanks largely to the work of Catholic nun Mother Teresa.
Teresa who died in 1997 founded the Missionaries of Charity who continue her work with the poor in the slums of Calcutta and other Indian cities.
India's main Hindu nationalist movement the Bharatiya Janata Party has criticised Christian missionaries for what it says are their attempts to convert Hindus to Christianity.
