‘We have so many uncanonised martyrs’

Christians in Pakistan are living in daily ear of violence rom extremists, writes Sister Janet Fearns
‘Iam sorry I could not speak to you then because we were just about to begin the funeral service for Irfan, an 11year-old boy who was shot in the head passed away yesterday.” That was the opening line of the email from Fr Mario Rodriguez, national director for the Pontifical Mission Societies in Pakistan. Several hours later, Fr Mario was able to give a few more details as he spoke over the phone from Karachi. He also sent me three photographs of his parishioners.
In one photo, Fr Mario and a householder stand in a fire-blackened house. In another, in the midst of a group of men, one wears a sling, a slight bloodstain showing where the bullet entered his arm.
The third photo portrays a man holding up his right arm, its blistered blackness horrific. At present, the man’s injury is possibly not very painful: the serious nature of his burn probably destroyed the sensitive nerve endings in his skin. As his injury heals and the nerves regenerate, it will be agony.
Yet the message from Fr Mario’s parishioners is one of defiance. “We are prepared to die for our faith!” Irfan Masih was an innocent victim who died because he was a Christian, killed when local Christians tried to prevent a group of Taliban extremists desecrating their church in Tiasar Town near Karachi, home to 300 Catholic families. The families used to live in a more central area of Karachi but were evicted and forced to move to the outskirts of the city.
Fr Mario explained: “Irfan was shot in the head a few days ago when the Taliban attacked St Jude’s church in Karachi. He had massive brain injuries and was on life-support when I visited him in the hospital on Friday. He died on Monday and was buried today, Tuesday. His parents are devastated and his mother hasn’t eaten or drunk since it happened.” At present, the media in Britain is constantly reporting on the struggle between the Pakistani government troops and the Taliban. Even as I write, the latest report is that as part of a crackdown the army bombed various Taliban strongholds overnight who are trying hard to tighten their stranglehold on the Swat Valley and increase their influ ence over the rest of Pakistan.
Fr Mario continued: “The ruling government gave the Taliban permission to adopt sharia law in the area because the north of the country is a war zone. The two sides signed an agreement giving the Taliban control of the area if they would maintain peace. It was a desperate measure. The Taliban, however, kept their word for only 10 days and then advanced beyond the agreed borders. In an effort to limit the Taliban’s incursion deeper into Pakistan, troops have today killed 70 insurgents. This has just made the Taliban say that the government has gone back on its word.” Recent news reports in Britain declared that many Pakistanis are turning against the Taliban as a result of their taking control of the Swat Valley. Apparently there is a huge, rapid circulation of two videos, the first showing the flogging of a 16-year-old girl for reportedly having sex outside marriage. The second is the brutal execution of a middle-aged couple caught committing adultery. These two videos are serving as a wake-up call as people realise the strength of the Taliban’s disregard of the rights of women and also of their abhorrence of modern technology.
The low status of women has had an impact on the Church, as Fr Mario described: “The Taliban have a very low opinion of women and of education for women. In the Swat Valley, they gave the Sisters 24 hours to leave their two schools and the girls’ hostel and then blew up the buildings.” Sadly, Irfan was only one of the recent casualties as a result of Taliban activities. On April 22 a group of insurgents began to spray insulting messages on the walls of the town. Fr Mario described the events. “They wrote ‘Long live Taliban!’ and ‘Embrace Islam!’ on many of the walls, but people stayed quiet until the Taliban attacked the church. When Christians reacted and tried to remove the slogans, they were told: ‘We can do what we want. You are a minority!’” After two hours, the original insurgents returned with over 40 armed soldiers and began firing on the Christians gathered there, wounding 15 people while police officers from the local police station stood by and watched.
“One boy died on the spot. A man was shot in the arm. Irfan was shot in the head and struggled to survive,” continued Fr Mario. “The Taliban then proceeded to sack the houses of 15 Christian families in the area, later setting them on fire.
“The Taliban deliberately came into the Christian area of the town,” Fr Mario declared. “Their aim is to have the Christians leave the area or pay a tribute, the jizya, imposed by the sharia courts on non-Muslim minorities. The only ones to defend us are the Muttahida Quami Movement, who have an office in London.” How is the Church handling the upsurge in anti-Christian violence? “We are running a training course for Catholic families who live in the tribal areas in the north,” said Fr Mario.
“We are trying to help them to lead by example, so that people can see them living a peaceful, good Christian life. Yes, it takes courage and some of them know that they will be attacked and perhaps killed, but they say: ‘This is what our faith means to us. If we are killed, then so be it.’ We have so many uncanonised martyrs in Pakistan. Christian groups of several denominations are joining together in prayer to remember those who have died as a result of violent clashes with the Taliban.” Although Fr Mario was speaking of the death of a boy in April, life has become no easier for his parishioners or for other Christians. Sharia is still the law of reference in Pakistan. At least 50 houses of Christians were recently burned and destroyed in Gojra in the Punjab and thousands of faithful fled to escape execution. At least eight people – including four women and a child of seven – were burned alive and 20 others wounded in the attack.
Catholics in England and Wales have a special relationship with the Church in Pakistan through the Association for the Propagation of the Faith (APF). In 2007 the APF worldwide gave £153,000 and in 2008 £136,500 as a result of the Red Box collections and World Mission Sunday.
There is, however, one more, very urgent contribution that they can make. As Fr Mario finished speaking about the plight of Pakistani Catholics at the present time, he simply said “Please ask them to pray for us. Pray! Pray! Pray!”