Pakistan reacts to Pope's 'state of the world' address

In his speech to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, Pope Benedict XVI on Monday encouraged the leaders of Pakistan to take the necessary steps to abolish the blasphemy law, saying that “it serves as a pretext for acts of injustice and violence against religious minorities.”

Last week, Punjab’s provincial governor, Salam Taseer, was assassinated by one of his security guards because of his opposition to the law. The governor had also requested a pardon for Asia Bibi, the Christian mother of five sentenced to death under the law.

Reacting to the Holy Father’s words, Peter Jacob, the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Pakistani Bishops Conference, says debate over the blasphemy law “should be seen as a civil society cause and not Christian-Muslim conflict.

“The extremists in Pakistan – or the fundamentalists – they have a benefit attached to such a proclaim,” Peter Jacob told Vatican Radio. He goes on to say that many members of Pakistan’s parliament and press from Muslim backgrounds have been clear that this issue is not a religious conflict.

Listen: