May 29, 2012: Catholics near Islamabad are going public – at least on the internet.
The Daughters of St Paul, in Pakistan, have launched a website to encourage youth
participation, despite community worries about drawing attention in the predominantly
Muslim country.
“They were afraid of exposure and showing the face of Christ
in a Muslim country,” said Sister Athens Angeles, the community superior. “But we
are already the last of 51 countries where the Pauline family is running local websites.”
The
website offers information about upcoming Church events as well as links to Facebook
posts about the outreach programs, meetings and publications of the congregation which
is running three book centers in the country.
“It is purely for vocation and
has no business dimension,” Sr Angeles said. The site was created by youth leader
and student Sonish Akmal in just two days, after the order worked on the project for
three years. “We waited till Pentecost to highlight the additional feature of viewing
the site in different languages,” she said.
Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Edgar
Pena Parra launched the site over the weekend to the applause of more than 100 priests,
nuns and lay leaders. He then lauded the nuns for setting a great example on the correct
use of the internet.