Pakistani bishop calls for prayers after Christians threatened

Published: 2007-05-23

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNS) -- A bishop from northern Pakistan has called on Catholics to pray for Christians threatened with death if they do not convert to Islam or leave town. Bishop Anthony Lobo of Islamabad-Rawalpindi called for the Holy Spirit's intervention and for prayer in the wake of threats against a small Christian community in Charsadda, in Pakistan's North-West Frontier province. In a May 18 pastoral letter, read May 20 in churches across the diocese, Bishop Lobo said the church was working to help those seeking refuge, reported UCA News, an Asian church news agency. "Recently rivers of blood have been flowing in Karachi, Peshawar and elsewhere," he said. "To heal this at the root requires that feelings of hatred and revenge which lead to violence and terrorism must be transformed with the light and love of the Holy Spirit." UCA News reported that Charsadda's Christians were in a state of panic following the threatening letter received May 7 by Michael John, a Christian Union councilor, in his courtyard.

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