NRI Sikhs
will not meet with the Pope on April 17
because of kirpan ban by US Secret Service
Washington, DC, March 02, 2008
The World Sikh Council
Sikhs Will Not Attend Interreligious Meeting With Pope on April
17: US Secret Service Refuses to accommodate Religious Requirements
The World Sikh Council – America Region (WSC-AR) is unable
to attend the interreligious meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on
April 17, 2008 in Washington, DC due to the refusal of the US
Secret Service to accommodate the Sikh requirement of the Kirpaan.
The Kirpaan is one of the five articles of faith required of
all formally initiated Sikhs. The Kirpaan (literally meaning ‘bringer
of mercy’) represents the Sikh commitment to resist oppression
and injustice, but only in a defensive posture and never to initiate
confrontation.
The United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) Secretariat
for Ecumenical and Interfaith Affairs worked with WSC-AR’s
Interfaith Committee to engage the US Secret Service in providing
adequate security arrangements for the event without curtailing
the practice of the Sikh religion at such important gatherings.
WSC-AR expresses its deep disappointment that the Secret Service
was not able to accommodate the Sikh faith and calls upon it to
respect the religious rights and freedoms of the Sikh community.
“We have to respect the sanctity of the Kirpaan, especially
in such interreligious gatherings. We cannot undermine the rights
and freedoms of religion in the name of security. Pope John Paul
II met Sikhs in the Vatican, wearing their Kirpaans” said
Dr. Anahat Kaur, Secretary General of WSC-AR.
In 2004, Mr. Kuldeep Singh, then Chairperson of WSC-AR, was
forced to decline an invitation to the
White House when he was similarly asked by staffers to compromise
observance of his faith. The
National Council of Churches in the USA supported the position
taken by WSC-AR. The WSC-AR
continues to be concerned that at events organized by some Sikh
organizations at the White House and
Capitol Hill, Sikhs are still refused the right to wear their
Kirpaan.
WSC-AR expressed solidarity with the Sikh Federation (UK) when
its Sikh representatives refused to
enter the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium on May 31, 2006 when
asked to first remove their
Kirpaans.
The USCCB and WSC-AR have been conducting a bilateral interreligious
dialogue since 2006. The
organizations held an initial consultation in May followed by
a retreat in October 2006. The second Sikh-
Catholic retreat was held in September 2007 on the theme ‘Honoring
Holiness In and Out of Our Faiths’.
The WSC-AR is a representative and elected body of Sikh Gurdwaras
(Sikh places of worship) and
institutions in the United States. Its members include 45 Gurdwaras
and other institutions across the
nation. WSC-AR works to promote Sikh issues at the national and
international level focusing on issues
of advocacy, education, and the well-being of all humankind.