Good that Obama talked about Gandhi: Delhi Catholic Archdiocese

The Delhi Catholic Archdiocese on Friday said it was a good thing that US President Barack Obama had talked about Mahatma Gandhi and not any specific religion, after Obama mentioned that acts of religious intolerance in India in the past few years would have shocked the Father of the Nation.

"It is very good that somebody is not speaking about the Bible or about the Quran but he is talking about Mahatma Gandhi. He has not mentioned about any specific religion. He said that in India there is a lot of intolerance now, of people of one religion against another, which is not good and it would have even shocked Mahatma Gandhi," Father Dominic, the spokesperson of Delhi Catholic Archdiocese told ANI.

He added that it was good for the country to be reminded by anybody in the world what Mahatma Gandhi said.

"Mahatma Gandhi is the father of the nation and it is good for us to be reminded by anybody in the world what Mahatma Gandhi said. So, I think it is very true and even in India he also spoke of, among other things, if religions or countries are splintered on religious lines then it cannot progress. So, I think we should listen to him," said Father Dominic.

Speaking at the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, US President Barack Obama said the acts of intolerance experienced by religious faiths of all types in India in the past few years would have shocked Mahatma Gandhi.

He, however, did not name any particular religion and said the violence is not unique to one group or one religion.

In an address at New Delhi's Siri Fort auditorium on January 27, during the last leg of his India trip, Obama had made a strong pitch for religious tolerance, cautioning that India will succeed so long as it is not splintered along the lines of religious faith.