Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – Father Mario Angelo Rodrigues, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Pakistan, normally lives in Karachi (Pakistan) but was recently in Rome for the PMS General Assembly. During his stay, Fides was able to ask him a few questions on the situation of Catholic faithful in his country and how the missionary flame is kept alive amidst religious persecution.
Could you tell us a little about Christians there in Pakistan, about how they live their faith?
They are a people of faith. They are regular church-goers. They are people of the Bible; the Bible is something great for them. They are ready to give their lives for their faith.
What are some of the persecutions they currently suffer for their Catholic faith?
In many parts of the country, the religious persecution is a bit dormant. However, it can spring up at anytime. The main problem in our country is the blasphemy law, the law regarding not blaspheming against the “Holy Prophet.” If someone blasphemes the Holy Prophet, he is liable to death. For example, if a Muslim wants to purchase the land belonging to a Christian who is not willing to sell it, he will get together a group of people and say that he has blasphemed against the Holy Prophet...and they will go out to kill him, to destroy him – his family and everything. So, we have been making appeals to the lawmakers, to try and get rid of this law.
How does the Catholic community in Pakistan live out the missionary spirit amidst an Islamic majority?
In the Gospel, the Lord says: “You are the salt of the earth”...Salt: that is how you could describe the Catholic community, which is a little less than 1%. And as Catholics, as Christians, we are expected to bear witness among this Islamic republic...by love: in teaching, in the medical profession – people want to come to our schools, to our hospitals...Muslim patients seek Christian doctors to treat them, etc. because they know of their dedication. They know of the love of the Catholic Church.
The main problem is that conversion is against the law. There's no problem in converting to Islam, but to become Christian, Hindu, or any other religion, is against the law. And anyone caught doing so can be killed. People come to my parish to request baptism and oftentimes I have to tell them it is out of the question, because of this situation. They say: “Fine, Father, but you cannot stop us from coming to Church.”
Could you tell us of any concrete anecdote showing the importance of the faith for the people?
We recently baptized an entire family. They are very strong in their faith. The mother is there every morning for 6am Mass. Any activity that is planned, they are a part of it. They have integrated so well into the community. The other people love them and this family is willing to do anything for their faith.
After they were baptized at the church, they began having problems so they moved to another community, where they are more or less okay. Now they are having problems with their ID Card, where religion is mentioned. A friend of ours who works in this department told us: “Father, tell them to leave their religious identification as 'Muslim' on the card, because if it appears as 'Christian,' they might have problems.” I told them, but they told me no, and they were very adamant about it. They said: 'No, we want it to say that we are Christians.'” (AR) (Agenzia Fides 24/5/2010)
