Pakistan's Christian leaders condemn extremist insurgency

(May 26, 2009) In their first official response to the escalating war between the army and the Taliban in the Swat valley in Pakistan, the country's Christian leaders have urged people to turn away from hatred. "The activities of armed groups have not only resulted in colossal loss of human life but at the same time have damaged the state apparatus," Catholic Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore said, reading from a prepared statement during a May 22 press conference at the Lahore Press Club. Leaders from the Catholic Church, the Church of Pakistan, the Salvation Army, the Presbyterian Church in Pakistan and the National Council of Churches in Pakistan endorsed the statement. Archbishop Saldhana called upon the people “to recognize the reality of hatred, discrimination and injustice being encouraged and propagated in the name of religion," and to condemn and take to task those who damage the solidarity and independence of the nation. The archbishop encouraged Christian aid workers to support displaced civilians from Swat valley, who the United Nations estimates number nearly 2.4 million. The church leaders announced that May 30 would be a day of prayer and fasting throughout the country to ask for the restoration of peace and to show solidarity with people affected by the violence. They also called for rallies across Pakistan June 13 to focus on the difficulties caused by the insurgency.