Pakistan schools should offer Christian religious education
(October 27, 2011) Bishop Sebastian Francis Shaw, the Apostolic Administrator of
the Archdiocese of Lahore, said that state schools in Pakistan should offer Christian
religious education for its Christian students. The bishop said Catholic schools
offer Muslim school children the opportunity to attend Islamic religious teaching,
but in state schools there is no religious teaching for members of minority religions.
He added that Catholic schools teach their students – who include many Muslims – about
universal human values. “People who truly believe in their religion will also respect
other people,” Bishop Shaw said. “When people learn to choose goodness, they will
also find goodness in other people. We respect each and every Pakistani, regardless
of which religion he or she belongs to.” It is important, the Bishop emphasised, for
all people in Pakistan to work together for a peaceful future. Teachers and university
professors in particular, as well as politicians, have an important role to play within
society. At the present time, minorities still “live in fear”, he added. But Bishop
Shaw explained that there is reason to hope, because attempts have been made in recent
times to foster dialogue, greater harmony and democratisation in society. Various
commissions and non-governmental organisations, but also the state itself, are contributing
to this. Of Pakistan’s population of approximately 184 million, over 96% are Muslims
and 1.2 million belong to the Catholic Church. The majority of these live in the Archdiocese
of Lahore.