Pakistani bishops voice hope and concerns during ad limina visit

During their ad limina visit to the Vatican, Pakistan’s bishops shared the hopes and hardships of the Church in their country. Bishop Samson Shukardin speaks of challenges including discrimination, blasphemy accusations, and forced conversions, while expressing hope for equal rights and a stronger future for Christians in Pakistan.

The bishops of Pakistan have expressed hope for the future of the Church in their country while highlighting the serious challenges facing Christians, including discrimination, blasphemy accusations, and forced conversions.

Speaking during the Pakistani bishops’ ad limina Apostolorum visit to the Vatican, Bishop Samson Shukardin, President of the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Bishop of Hyderabad, said the visit had been a source of encouragement and renewal for the bishops.

An ad limina Apostolorum visit is a periodic pilgrimage that Catholic bishops make to the Holy See, typically every five years, to report on the state of their dioceses, meet with the Pope and officials of the Roman Curia, and pray at the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome.

New hope and insight for future

“This ad limina is very important for us because spiritually and physically, this has given us a new insight and new hope in the coming future,” Bishop Shukardin said. He explained that the delegation had presented reports to various Vatican dicasteries and had received positive responses from Church officials.

“We have shared our reports in different dicasteries, and we received very positive responses from the different dicasteries, which is very important for us,” he said.

Main challenges

Reflecting on the life of the Church in Pakistan, Bishop Shukardin pointed to evangelisation as one of the central challenges facing the local Catholic community. He described Pakistan’s Catholic faithful as deeply committed despite economic hardship and limited educational opportunities.

“Our people are still illiterate but strong in faith,” the bishop said. “They are poor but very hard-working people, always working hard.”

At the same time, he lamented the difficulties experienced by many Christians in Pakistani society. “Many of our people are not receiving equal rights,” he said.

The blasphemy issue

Bishop Shukardin also drew attention to concerns surrounding blasphemy accusations and forced conversions, issues that have repeatedly affected religious minorities in the country.

“We have a big problem regarding the blasphemy cases,” he said, adding that “forced conversions are there.” He also noted that Christians sometimes face rejection and persecution because of their beliefs and witness.

“Sometimes our Church is rejected, persecuted because we are not going where they are expecting,” he said, but despite these difficulties, Bishop Shukardin stressed that the Church in Pakistan continues to look to the future with hope.

“Our Church is going through difficulties, but we are very hopeful,” he said. “We are hopeful that one day we will get our equal rights in Pakistan.”

Vatican News
Source: vaticannews.va/en