Sunday’s (March 15) suicide bombing of a Catholic and an Anglican church in Lahore, Pakistan is the latest in a series of outrages against Christians in that country. During the attack 14 people were killed and least 78 people were injured. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault and in a announcement sent to the media they threatened more such attacks.
Life is very difficult for Christian in Pakistan where the blasphemy laws are exploited by fundamentalists to imprison, harass and even kill Christians. If one or two people say that someone said something against Islam then that person would be in great trouble. Proving the contrary would be difficult. There are many cases where people take the law into their own hands, attack Christians, and ransack their homes and churches. This persecution has been going on for many years. In 1998 Bishop John Joseph had committed suicide in protest against the cruel treatment of Christian in this Asian countries.
The Pope’s reaction was both strong and immediate.
Following his Sunday Angelus address, the Pope said that he received the news with "much sadness" and prayed for those who were killed and wounded in Lahore.
"Our brothers and sisters shed their blood solely because they are Christians," he said. Besides praying for the victims and their families, the Pope prayed to God that there may be peace in Pakistan.
He followed his prayers with a strong appeal, expressing his hope that "this persecution against Christians, that the world tries to hide, may end and that there may be peace.
In Pakistan, the Justice and Peace Commission of the Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement on Monday lamenting the “minimal” protection the government offered to Christians, despite the fact that threats against Christians had been made in the days before the attack.
The police “present at the moment were busy watching a cricket match on television instead of fulfilling their task of protection the churches. Consequently, because of their negligence, many Christians lost their lives,” said the statement, which was reported by the Catholic news agency, Fides.
Pakistan is not the only country where Catholics and other Christians are paying with their blood because of their beliefs. The Pope has been very active denouncing this persecution.
On February 16th, following the murder of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians by ISIS extremists in Libya, Pope Francis said:
"The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard. It makes no difference whether they be Catholics, Orthodox, Copts or Protestants. They are Christians! Their blood is one and the same."
He added that the Church shares "an ecumenism of blood."
Last month the Pope also commented on the Gospel reading that narrated the martyrdom of St John the Baptist. Pope Francis then said that this reading made him “think of our martyrs, the martyrs of today, those men, women and children who are persecuted, hated, chased from their homes, tortured and massacred. This is not something from the past; it is happening today. Our martyrs are ending their lives under the corrupt authority of people who hate Jesus Christ.”
In a June interview with Spanish-language magazine "La Vanguardia," Pope Francis said he is "deeply concerned" about the persecution of Christians today, which is "stronger than in the first centuries of the Church."
"The persecuted Christians are a concern that touches me very deeply as a pastor."
According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Christians are being persecuted in more places today than any other religious group. It shows that between 2006 and 2012, they were targeted for harassment in 151 countries.
Please keep the Pakistani Christians in your prayers.