The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) wants to give Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “chance” and not pre-judge him because of his record as the Gujarat Chief Minister or his association with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

A day after he met Mr. Modi in the capital, CBCI president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis on Tuesday said the Church preferred to take the Prime Minister’s call for a 10-year-moratorium on communalism seriously rather than the ‘Hindutva-subsumes-all-other-identities’ statement of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.

Admitting that Mr. Bhagwat’s statements did create anxiety, he said undue weightage should not be given to the personal opinion of one person.

Asked about the apprehensions that minorities had about Mr. Modi in the past, his refrain was: “Mr. Modi has just begun his administration as the head of the government at the Centre. It is sensible and legitimate that any government needs time to settle down and work out its policies. He has been elected and we have to see his actions. We are optimistic.”