Pakistani archbishop calls for respect for Christian symbols

(04 February, 2011) Sacred symbols, including those of the Catholic Church and Christianity, must be respected, said a Pakistani archbishop after participants in a rally supporting the country's anti-blasphemy laws burned effigies of Pope Benedict XVI and the cross. Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, president of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference, said, "The Islamic radicals have attacked the Pope, accusing him of interfering in the life of the country. They burned his effigy and the cross. For that, we are very sorry. As faithful Christians, this wounds us." In an interview to Fides news agency on Wednesay, Archbishop Saldanha said, "We dissociate ourselves from every act of violence and we demand respect for all sacred symbols, whatever their religion." Church commissions and human rights organizations in Pakistan have called on the government to allow "freedom of conscience and expression" by curbing increasing extremism in the country. "We strongly condemn target killings and judicial ruling on journalists, especially in cases against political workers," said the Pakistan Catholic Bishops' Conference's National Commission for Justice and Peace. Christians nationwide observed a day of prayer, fasting and penance Jan. 30 after the Pakistani bishops issued a call for peace and unity. The same day, more than 40,000 people rallied in Lahore to protest any change in the country's blasphemy laws, which make insults of the Quran an offense punishable by up to life imprisonment and call for the death penalty for anyone convicted of insulting Mohammed.