Indian bishops condemn violence against Pakistani Christians

March 11, 2013 - India’s Catholic Bishops have expressed deep regret and concern over a violent incident in Pakistan on Saturday where more than a hundred Christian houses in Lahore were set on fire and several shops and establishments were destroyed by a violent mob in retaliation for alleged insults against Islam's Prophet Muhammad. “While expressing our solidarity with the Christian brethren in Lahore, the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India would like to call upon the Government of Pakistan, and in particular its Prime Minister, who is currently in Delhi for a private visit, to take stringent action against those miscreants responsible for the attack on the innocent people and to take appropriate steps to rehabilitate those hundreds of Christians who fled from the Badami Bagh area for fear of attack on life,” wrote Archbishop Albert D’Souza of Agra, the Secretary General of the Catholic Bishop’s conference of India (CBCI) in a statement. He lamented that in recent years, attack on Christians in several parts of Pakistan has increased, with a growing sense of insecurity among them. “Under the pretext of alleged blasphemy, organized crime and violence are let loose by cynical mobs, causing heavy loss of life and damage to property,” he wrote. Archbishop D’Souza expressed confidence that the Pakistani government will take effective steps to dispel this growing sense of fear and insecurity among the minorities, and will ensure freedom, safety and security for all the citizens of Pakistan.