New Pakistan archbishop emphasizes social harmony between religions
Lahore, Pakistan, 18 February 2014: The new Archbishop of Lahore, Pakistan, has asked
people to pray that he has “courage and faith,” stressing the need for justice and
respect between religions.
“There is not much peace in Pakistan,” Archbishop
Sebastian Shaw told Aid to the Church in Need February 10, ahead of his February 14
installation. He voiced his commitment to have more meetings with other faith leaders
and to increase training programs for teachers, catechists, parents and women to help
them learn about their rights and responsibilities.
“There is an urgent need
for greater equality and social justice and for peace,” he added. The Church should
be a visible sign of our commitment to this and we can only move forward by lives
of service.”
The Archdiocese of Lahore has as many as 600,000 Catholics, about
half of all Catholics in Pakistan. Christians and other religious minorities, including
Shiite Muslims and Ahmadiyya Muslims, suffer persecution, violence and discrimination
in the country.
Archbishop Shaw said that interfaith cooperation, ecumenical
dialogue and outreach through television are important in developing social harmony.
He plans to launch a cable channel initiative called “Catholic TV Lahore” to broadcast
12 or more hours each day.
He said that people must “feel the need for peace.”
“They will see that peace comes when we have justice,” he stressed. “What we need
is to learn to respect one another – to realize that we are all Pakistanis, whether
we are Muslims, Christians, Sikhs or Hindus.”
Archbishop Shaw, a Franciscan,
has been the archdiocese’s apostolic administrator since Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha
stepped down in 2011.
Archbishop Shaw was installed as head of the Lahore archdiocese
at a Mass at Sacred Heart Cathedral led by Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the apostolic
nuncio to Pakistan. All of Pakistan’s bishops attended.Source: CNA