Brother of slain Pakistani minister meets Pope

(April o7, 2011) Pope Benedict XVI after his general audience on Wednesday received Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad and Paul Bhatti, brother of the former Pakistani minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti, who was murdered by Islamic extremists in Islamabad on March 2. In his brief talk with the Pope, Paul Bhatti thanked the Pontiff for his support and prayers. Earlier on Tuesday, Paul Bhatti attended a prayer service organised by the Rome-based Sant’Egidio Community in memory of the slain minister dubbed “a martyr of the faith”. The service presided over by Bishop Coutts was held against the solemn backdrop of the Saint Bartholomew Basilica on Tiber Island in Rome.
In his homily at the prayer service, Bishop Coutts focused on the mission of peace, harmony, love and understanding, carried out by the Catholic minister in a country, which he said was experiencing religious intolerance. The prelate urged Paul Bhatti and the entire catholic community to continue the work in the footsteps of the slain minister. “He showed the way,” the bishop explained, “and we must continue to along the path with courage.”
Paul Bhatti, president of the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), called on all to support his work and help people who suffer in Pakistan. Similarly, he addressed his appeal to the international community and to Western Christians, asking for their support and help in discharging his new duties.
St. Bartholomew Basilica on Tiber Island is dedicated to the martyrs of the 20th and 21st centuries. It has a collection of some 12,000 documents sent to the Vatican by a commission set up by John Paul II in 2000, to investigate the martyrs of the 20th century. Shabbaz Bhatti’s Bible was handed over and placed in the collection of tokens kept inside to remember the martyrs.