Church condemns Qur’an burning

(March 24, 2011) The head of the Catholic Church in Pakistan has condemned in strongest terms the burning of a Qur’an in the US. American Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Centre, oversaw the burning by an evangelical preacher in a Florida church. About 30 people attended the Sunday, March 20 event which was presented as a trial of the book in which the Qur’an was found “guilty” and “executed.” Archbishop Lawrence John Saldanha, chairman of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, issued a statement in which he expressed anger and dismay at the incident. “I condemn this act of sheer madness that does not represent Christian values or the teachings of the Church. We regret to note that someone who calls himself a pastor is ignorant of his religion and normal decency”, he stated. Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari condemned the desecration Wednesday in his opening address to parliament. Islamic groups have announced a countrywide protest to take place on March 25. The archbishop urged fellow citizens to offer a convincing and civilized response to what he called “this extremely sad incident” rather than a sporadic reaction. “Let us work to win hearts with peace rather than add fuel to the fire. The Christian community will stand together with the Muslim community in this civil response” he said in the statement. “By the very message of their faith, Christians are obliged to respect other faiths and people. Fundamentalism or extremism in any religion is deplorable and a threat to peace and harmony. We demand that the Government of the United States of America deal with this provocative act in accordance with the law,” he added