ICC Note:

Despite warnings from his own country’s government, the Archbishop of Canterbury visited with persecuted Christians on a recent trip to Pakistan. As a part of the Archbishop’s trip, he visited with victims of the All Saints Church attack in 2013 and the victims of the Easter bombing of Gulshan Iqbal Park in Lahore. Christians in Pakistan face intense persecution because of their religious identity. Widespread discrimination and frequent terrorist attacks on their places of worship make living in Pakistan for Christians extremely hard. 

11/22/2016 Pakistan (Christian Today) – The Archbishop of Canterbury rejected foreign office advice not to visit persecuted Christians in Pakistan over the weekend.

Justin Welby met with terror victims in Lahore and Islamabad to pray after 72 were killed in a suicide attack aimed at Christians on Easter Sunday. It is the first time any Archbishop of Canterbury has visited Pakistan more than once.

Welby urged Pakistan to step up security for persecuted Christians. On Saturday he met with the Prime Minister’s foreign advisor to discuss religious freedom and protections for religious minorities.

“Freedom of religion and belief and the persecution of Christians and other minorities must lead to our support for those affected in every way,” a statement from Lambeth Palace read.

Welby was invited on the trip by Bishop Samuel Azariah, moderator of the Church of Pakistan, who said the Archbishop had defied official advice in order to attend.

“The archbishop [came] contrary to the advice of his own Foreign Ministry [and] contrary to the advice of the British High Commission and took a very major and drastic decision that in spite of all the negativities which was being given to him to postpone this visit, he said he would still go there,” said Bishop Azariah according to ACNS. “He was determined to visit Pakistan. He was advised not to attend the church in Islamabad but he said that he would go there and as an Archbishop visiting a province how could he not go to the church and not meet his people.

“So we want to thank him from the depth of our heart. We are grateful to the Communion for thinking of us and praying for us, for a church which is struggling, for a church which is marginalized, for a church which comes under suffering, but a church which lives with hope – with hope in God’s great grace.”

…