Pakistani bishops condemn attack on Church in Sialkot
The Justice and Peace Commission of the Pakistani Bishops’ Conference has strongly
condemned new attacks on the Christian community in Sialkot, where Muslims vandalized
a Catholic church. According to the Fides news agency, the attack took place on February
3 and resulted in numerous injuries as well as the profanation of the church. The
president of the Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha, issued
a statement condemning the “violence against our defenceless community” which he said
was growing “because the government has failed to adopt adequate countermeasures against
incidents in the past. The most recent example is that of Sangla Hill where, 80 days
after the Nov 13 profanation and destruction of three Christian churches, there have
been no arrests of those responsible for the attacks against Christians.” The statement
also noted that “discrimination continues to be out of control” and that “places of
gathering and prayer of religious minorities are attacked with impunity.” In the wake
of the recent attacks, numerous Catholic organizations and human rights groups have
energetically called for respect for the rule of law and questioned the continuous
false accusations and discrimination against minorities in Pakistan. Pakistan, which
has a population of 155 million, is 97% Muslim. Christians make up about 2.5%, with
Catholics numbering about 1.2 million.