LAHORE, Pakistan, MAY 23, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The government needs to protect Christians, increasingly victimized by radical Muslims, said the archbishop of Pakistan's second largest city.
In an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha said he has witnessed increasing extremism among the country's Muslims, increasing insecurity among Christians.
"We Christians are citizens, just like everyone else, and wish to have the same rights. And outside countries should likewise make more effort to speak up for our safety," he said. "It distresses us that Christians are threatened, in an attempt to force them to convert to Islam. This is something that has never happened before."
Archbishop Saldanha, 70, cited desires to introduce a stricter Islam, including greater emphasis on Shariah, Islamic law. He gave an example of letters sent on May 5 to some 50 Christian families, threatening them to "convert to Islam or face violent consequences."
He also said that religious sisters of the Daughters of St. Paul were recently attacked. They escaped without harm, but their vehicles were stoned.
The prelate said "the entire country is now in a crisis."
About 1.5 million Christians live in Pakistan, a country with 168 million people, 97% of them Muslim.
Code: ZE07052305
Date: 2007-05-23