The courage of the Church of Pakistan against the “Islamization” of society

ICC Note:

Vatican representatives give their impressions from a recent trip to Pakistan: Christians are persecuted; the blasphemy law is used to target the faithful and their businesses. However, signals of hope are also emerging: the Church is “young, vibrant and courageous.”

by Nirmala Carvalho

10/26/09 Pakistan (AsiaNews) – In Pakistan there is an ongoing attempt to bring about the “complete Islamization of society” by a “fringe fanatics”; Christians are subjected to “humiliations” but the church, even though a “cultural and numerical minority” is while “young, vibrant and courageous.” This was the statement made to AsiaNews by Father Theodore Mascarenhas, of the Pontifical Council for Culture, delegate for Asia, Africa and Oceania, who returned recently from a trip to the Asian nation.

Fr. Mascarenhas says that the “minority of fanatics” does not represent “the average Pakistani society”, but still manages to force the hand of those in authority to impose a radical vision of Islam and religion. Among several examples, the priest mentions the “nationalization of Christian educational institutions” carried out by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former president and prime minister, later repudiated by General Musharraf, who “returned the property to the Christians.” And yet he points to the “license to sell alcohol”, where it is unclear whether it was “a sign of tolerance” toward a different faith or another way to “consider people infidels” and, therefore, persecute them.

The main form of repression of minorities, however, remains the infamous blasphemy law, which according to the Pakistani penal code stipulates life imprisonment or the death penalty for those who desecrate the Koran or profane the name of Mohammed. “The dreaded blasphemy law – says the priest – is one of the most powerful weapons and is used not only for issues related to the religious sphere, but according to eyewitness accounts, is exploited by jealous people to target Christians who get rich” through the their hard work and trade. He adds that President Zardari, “promised the pope to repeal the law,” but “nobody believes that indeed he will”.

However there are also signs of hope emerging from Pakistan, however, launched by the very Church that the fundamentalists want to annihilate. “The most encouraging note – explains Fr. Mascarenhas – is that the Church, its leaders and the faithful are admirable. They live their faith with courage. They suffer the difficulties of every Pakistani citizen in a country burdened by corruption, violence, terrorism. Bishops and priests, he says, have “a heart full of God” and loving “zeal for the Church and the people.” “I also want –he added – to express a word of appreciation for the Apostolic Nuncio, Msgr. Adolfo Tito Yllana, who has a vast knowledge of the country, people and the socio-economic and cultural situation”.

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