New Delhi: Pope Francis has begun a delicate visit in India's neighbourhood, starting with Myanmar that has been accused of ethnic cleansing by the US and moving on to Bangladesh.

The schedule of the leader of the Roman Catholic Church has thrown up one question: why has he not included India in his itinerary? This is the second time the Pope is visiting the neighbourhood without coming to India.

Some in the Catholic Church feel the Narendra Modi government may be reluctant to host a papal visit because of the protests the Atal Bihari Vajpayee dispensation faced from its own extended family in November 1999 when Pope John Paul II visited. The VHP had vociferously objected to the papal visit.

"They probably fear being embarrassed by their own extended family," a Catholic clergyman said, explaining the delay on the part of an otherwise optics-friendly government in inviting Pope Francis to India. In 2015, he had visited Sri Lanka for a canonisation.

However, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) secretary-general, Theodore Mascarenhas, pointed out that foreign minister Sushma Swaraj had extended a verbal invitation to the Pope when she called on him at the Vatican last year during her visit for the canonisation of Mother Teresa.

"It would be wrong on our part to say that the government is not interested in inviting the Holy Father but they would have to consider what is suitable to them and the country. We have great hope in our government," Bishop Mascarenhas said, adding that the current Indian ambassador to the Vatican is also a Catholic. "This, along with the appointment of a Catholic minister in the government, is a positive signal."

Earlier this month, career diplomat Sibi George was sent to Berne to head India's mission in Switzerland which is concurrently accredited to the Principality of Liechtenstein and The Holy See.

Last week, asked if India had invited the Pope to visit during this trip to South Asia, foreign ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar was non-committal. He said that for any high-level bilateral visit to take place, mutually convenient dates had to be found.