Mission World - June, 2009
20.07.2009
The Taliban make advances on Karachi: Christians under threat
Karachi (FIDES) - Fears expressed by Christians and other religious minorities in Karachi are showing themselves to be well-founded. In having conceded control of the Swat Valley to the Taliban and legalising sharia law, fundamentalists have regained strength and are now showing their might in other parts of the country, including in Pakistan's largest cities.
Fr. Mario Rodriguez, Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies of Pakistan who lives in Karachi, the portal city to the South of Pakistan, gave an account of an episode that has left the Christians in that city on alert. On April 22, 2009 several Taliban were caught spraying offensive and intimidating messages on the walls of a church in Tiasar, a neighbourhood in Karachi where over 700 Christian families live. They are mainly poor families, working class and farmers.
The Taliban were stopped in their actions by a group of local Christians. However, they returned with over 40 armed soldiers and began firing on Christians gathered there, wounding 15 people, including a young man who was severely wounded. Then they proceeded to sack the houses of 15 Christian families in the area, later setting them on fire.
Police arrived on the scene and imposed a ceasefire in the neighborhood; the communities are asking the local government for protection and justice. The aim of the Taliban is to have Christians leave the area or pay a tribute imposed by sharia law on non-Muslim minorities.
A delegation of priests, religious, and laity met with local civil authorities and also several leaders of social and political movements. They expressed their concern as well as the urgent need of fundamentalists of the Taliban to stop terrorizing Christians in Pakistan.
However the situation remains tense throughout the country and Christian minorities feel threatened, afraid, and the target of extreme fundamentalists.
Pilgrimage to the Shrine of Sheshan, to pray for the gift of communion and reconciliation in China.
Vatican City (FIDES) - The Holy Father Benedict XVI, in his letter of May 27, 2007 to the Catholics of the People's Republic of China, expressed his desire that May 24 of every year be a Day of Prayer for the Church in China. This day which is dedicated to the feast of Our Lady, Help of Christians, is honoured with great devotion at the Marian Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai.
According to the intentions of the Pontiff himself, the Day is primarily for Catholics in China: "I encourage you to celebrate it by renewing your communion of faith in Jesus our Lord and of faithfulness to the Pope, and by praying that the unity among you may become ever deeper and more visible."
