Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – Priests, sisters and Pakistani laity who live in Italy and work in various offices of the Holy See will unite in Rome, on Sunday, 6 March 2011, at 4.30 pm, for a Memorial Mass for Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, killed in Islamabad. Card. Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, was invited to preside at the Holy Eucharist, to be held at the Pontifical College of St Peter Apostle.
The initiative was organised by the Association of Pakistani Christians in Italy, who, one of their members explains to Fides, wish “to pray for Bhatti, a martyr of the Church, persecuted in Pakistan.” There will also be an opportunity to investigate the options to help the Christian community in Pakistan, supporting them in their battle for respect for human rights and religious freedom. Members of other religious congregations and ecclesial communities will also attend the Mass, in addition to missionaries who work in Pakistan. There are about 200 Catholic faithful from Pakistan in Italy, and about another hundred Christian Protestants. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 4/3/2001)
