Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Okara (Agenzia Fides) - "A few days ago I went to have some holy images and photographs portraying Jesus’ face and the Cross printed. The staff of the print shop after seeing the religious images refused to do the job and told me about their policy not to print that kind of representation. "This is what happened to a Camillian deacon from Okara, in the Punjab province. Mushtaq Anjum, MI, added that prejudice and intolerance towards people who profess other faiths and religions other than Muslim continue to spread. "This situation calls all Christians to be more courageous in following Christ especially when faced with difficulties, and it is also a challenge for the Church of Pakistan not to surrender to pressure and to continue to profess one’s faith. The government and the competent authorities should enter into the merits of school education, and revise the program that feeds intolerance toward Christians and other minorities", the deacon, who is next to priestly ordination which will be celebrated on October 28, told Fides.
Speaking of religious prejudice and intolerance, Father Francis Lazarus, pastor of Chak 6/4-L, in Okara, said that "this particular episode reflects the growing climate of religious intolerance that reigns in Pakistani society. Christians across the country daily experience this kind of agony and discrimination". Since Pakistan has become an independent State, it hosts several ethnic groups and people belonging to religious groups, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, etc.. Over the past 30 years, religious intolerance has increased dramatically despite the efforts of the Catholic Church, and of other religious denominations and Muslim leaders. Honest people of good will continue to work for peace and harmony. However, these efforts remain limited. Most of the time, in critical and difficult situations, for fear, these leaders remain in silence, thereby undermining their efforts for religious harmony. Prejudices are not limited to fundamentalist groups, they have penetrated the social fabric. People, in common places, markets, villages, have taken a radical approach in their attitude and they do not accept people whose ideas and religious beliefs are different from theirs. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 29/09/2011)
