Hindus have termed Pope Benedict XVI’s call for solidarity toward Roma (Gypsies) as a “step in the right direction.”Lauding the pope’s solidarity appeal, US-based Hindu statesman Rajan Zed urged the pontiff to embrace the Roma cause more openly and strongly as condition of Roma people had most of the signs of “apartheid.”

The pope had in his Sunday appearance on St. Peter’s Square issued an appeal for more solidarity toward Roma people after four Roma children were killed in a fire in a squatters’ shack on the outskirts of Rome.

The miserable circumstances in which the children lived and died, the pope said, “force us to face the question whether a more united and fraternal society, more coherent in charity, in other words, more Christian, would not have been able to avoid this tragic event.”

Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, said the pope should voice against continuous Roma maltreatment. He said the pope should recognize, acknowledge and affirm the Roma as children of God who deserved to be treated as equals. Zed also offered help to the Pope, if asked, to support the Roma cause.