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Conferences, days of spiritual exercises, penitential celebrations and diocesan pilgrimages, as well as a nationwide jubilee festival for young people. Some, the most fortunate, will travel to Rome. This is how Pakistani Christians, a vibrant minority group on a population of 224 million in the world’s second most populous Muslim country (after Indonesia), are planning to celebrate the Jubilee Year. Christians make up between 1.6% and 2% of the total population. SIR interviewed Archbishop Germano Penemote, Apostolic Nuncio in Pakistan since 2023, a native Angolan with many years of experience in nunciatures in many countries around the world. For Pakistani Christians, the Jubilee Year “is a grace” to “reflect and meditate on God’s merciful and infinite love.” In the interview, the Archbishop underlines the importance of an agreement between the Holy See and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on the recognition of the presence and status of the Catholic Church. “Christian communities cannot continue to be considered as NGOs or as a ‘minority group’ subject to discrimination and tolerated as a foreign body within the majority,” he said. “The time has come to initiate a dialogue for the juridical recognition of the Church given her praiseworthy efforts in support of the national community.” The Nuncio extends his thoughts to the population of Pakistan living below the poverty line, calling for “an education system that benefits the children of the neediest families (who are the majority)” and “a more sustainable economy that benefits all.”
What does it mean to celebrate the Jubilee in a country like Pakistan, where Christianity is a minority religion? What is the spirit of anticipation for the local Christian community, and how will this occasion be experienced?
For us, the Jubilee is a special time of grace offered by God, to reflect in communion and in a spirit of synodality on God’s merciful and infinite love. Regarding pilgrimages to Rome, at the beginning of July, the Holy See published a Modus procedendi with detailed instructions for pilgrims from countries requiring visas to visit the Holy Places in Italy and the Vatican. These instructions have been duly transmitted by this Nunciature to the Episcopate of Pakistan. The Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (PCBC) has appointed Fr. Sac Kamran Daniel as delegate for all initiatives related to the Jubilee. The Christian community in Pakistan is preparing to celebrate the Holy Year with enthusiasm and zeal, but with due caution, since there have already been various requests from people, including non-Christians, who are pretending to be pilgrims in order to obtain visas to leave the country. Finally, and to avoid any surprises
the Bishops, in their respective dioceses, are responsible for introducing the groups of pilgrims who will be travelling to Rome.
Are you planning any special initiatives during the Year, such as pilgrimages or events, or will you just follow it on television?
I have the feeling that the local community, rather than being proactive and celebrating the Jubilee locally, prefers to do so elsewhere. However, the PCBC is working towards a national calendar with a detailed agenda. There are also plans for conferences, retreats, penitential celebrations and diocesan pilgrimages. There are even plans to organise a rather ambitious programme, namely a national jubilee youth festival. In short, everything will depend on time, on the good will of the communities involved and on the various resources available.
What is the situation of Christians in Pakistan today? The situation seems to have calmed down in recent months, with no cases of violence or persecution as a result of the blasphemy law. What are the pressing issues and priorities?
The situation of Christians in Pakistan has indeed improved. Apart from an attack that resulted in the death of a Christian man in Sargodha on 27 May, there have been no further episodes of violence or persecution against the disciples of Jesus Christ resulting from the blasphemy law.
We give thanks to God, for He has been and continues to be by our side. However, a legal instrument, an agreement between the Holy See and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is urgently needed to ensure that the presence and status of the Church, which does so much work in the fields of education and health, is recognised for the common good of all and for the full freedom of the Church. Christian communities cannot continue to be considered as NGOs or as a “minority group” to be discriminated against and tolerated as an alien body among the majority.
What are your hopes?
I would like to see all the beloved people of Pakistan as one family, Muslim brothers and sisters, Christians, Hindus and others, living together in fraternity and mutual respect for each other’s inalienable rights, men and women who share equal opportunities for employment, because in this world “we are all brothers” (Mt 23:8), as Pope Francis said when he offered his encyclical “Fratelli tutti” to humanity. No country can pride itself on respecting the rights of only some of its citizens while denying the same rights to others. In Pakistan, it is very common to hear many politicians and some influential Muslim personalities say that they were educated in Catholic schools, praising the high level of education they received, that human values and respect for human beings apply regardless of origin, religion or ethnicity. The same can be said of the service of charity generously provided by the missionaries in various healthcare centres in the country. In view of all this, I believe that the time has come to embark on a dialogue for the juridical recognition of the Catholic Church for its commendable efforts on behalf of the national community. It is also necessary to deepen doctrinal and ecclesial formation, not only for the clergy but also for families and the many pastoral workers in the parishes.
The Pakistani people have many serious needs. What is the most urgent need today?
It may sound somewhat exaggerated to say that it is ‘almost impossible’ to spend a day here without tackling issues related to the economic sustainability of households and institutions. Most of the residents are poor, living in deep poverty and destitution, so there are endless requests for help. Last November I spent five days in the diocese of Hyderabad, in the province of Sindh, on the border with India. I visited Christian communities who live below the poverty line, and yet they manage with the help of Divine Providence. These are families with many children, but no schooling. They live in shacks on roadsides and riverbanks, at the mercy of ruthless landowners and the floods that periodically devastate this region. That said, it’s easy to imagine the needs of the people of Pakistan: an education system that benefits the children of the neediest families (who are the majority), and the “dream” of a more sustainable economy that benefits everyone. Occasionally,
I have also considered the possibility of opening a Catholic University in Pakistan,
in view of the countless requests for support from young people who lack the opportunity to continue their studies. In any case, it is one thing to imagine what is necessary and indispensable; it is another to see the dream come true, and it is there that one must strive and where the overflowing joy of God’s children can spring forth.