Appeal for Asia Bibi, Pakistani Christian condemned to death

At the end of his general audience Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI joined the international community in expressing his concern for the plight of Christians in Pakistan, “often victims of violence or discrimination”. He said “especially today I express my spiritual closeness to Mrs. Asia Bibi and her family, while I ask for full freedom to be restored to her, as soon as possible”. Pope Benedict XVI added “I also pray for those who find themselves in similar situations, that their human dignity and their fundamental rights be fully respected”.

Nongovernmental organizations are re-launching campaigns against Pakistan’s blasphemy law following the recent death sentence of the Christian woman, Asia Bibi, a mother of five children. Bibi has been on trial for over a year after a row with a group of Muslim women. She is the first woman to be convicted on charges of blasphemy in Pakistan – a law that the Christian minority says is often misused to settle personal scores.

“The death sentence has shocked the civil society here,” says Peter Jacob, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Pakistani Bishops Conference. “Civil society in Pakistan is very active,” Peter Jacob told Vatican Radio. “There’s a number of appeals going on – signature campaigns – to make the authorities, the prime minister and parliament aware of people’s sentiment that this injustice is not acceptable to the people of Pakistan.”

Listen to Peter Jacob’s full interview with Kelsea Brennan-Wessels: