Listen to Christopher R. Altieri via Vatican Radio:
By Christopher R. Altieri with reporting by BosNewsLife’s Stefan J. Bos
VATICAN CITY/LAHORE (BosNewsLife)– Pope Francis on Sunday, March 15, appealed for peace and solidarity with Pakistan’s “persecuted” Christian minority after bombings at two churches in Lahore left at least 14 people dead and scores of others wounded. He also accused the world of trying to hide the persecution of Christians.
“With pain, with much pain, I learned of the terrorist attacks today against two churches in the city Lahore in Pakistan, which have resulted in numerous deaths and injuries,” he told a crowd of pilgrims and tourists gathered for the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square.
A Taliban splinter group, calling itself Jamatul Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the attack.
The twin attacks took place on churches only a few hundred metres apart from one another in one of the largest Christian neighbourhoods of the city, Youhanabad.
One of the churches was the Catholic church of St. John, the other was the Anglican Christ Church, witnesses said. “These are Christian churches, Christians are being persecuted,” the pontiff noted.
CHRISTIANS BLOODSHED
“Our brothers’ and sisters’ blood is shed only because they are Christians. As I assure you of my prayers for the victims and their families, I ask the Lord, I beseech the Lord, source of all good, for the gift of peace and harmony to this country,” Pope Francis added.
And he prayed that, “this persecution against Christians, which the world tries to hide, might end, and that there be peace.”
His comments came while Christians in Lahore faced a tense night. “These attacks have led people into the thought that they are unsafe anywhere,” said Sadaf Saddique, who heads the Good Shepherd Ministry in Pakistan, an outreach to exploited and at-risk children.
Speaking by telephone from Lahore, Saddique, a lawyer, said, “We never thought that Youhanabad could be attacked. He said residents “never thought that people would dare to come into this place, and would attack such a big Christian town.”
Christians, who comprise roughly 2 percent of Pakistan’s more than 182 million people, have been the target of increasingly intense and deadly violence in recent years.
PRESS RELEASE MARCH 15, 2015 NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION OF AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES
Satish Chandra satchandrag@gmail.com Telephone: (Canada) 1-647-556-2906
Air Marshal K. J. Mathews died on May 7 2014 at a young age just as the voting in the 2014 elections was ending. He was killed by RAW for following up my suggestion to emplace India’s nuclear warheads in Washington and New York to be exploded with the warning that additional U.S. cities will be destroyed if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation. Indira and Rajiv Gandhi were both killed by RAW for the same reason — showing my influence. Manmohan Singh on Mathews’ death : “Over the last few years, he had worked closely with my office, and had made an exceptional contribution to numerous projects of immense national importance. I am particularly impressed by his professionalism , dedication and personal warmth. His absence will be sorely felt”, he said [UNI] . The “numerous projects of immense national importance” were the emplacement of India’s nuclear warheads in Washington, New York and other U.S. cities. I had urged the simultaneous nuclear destruction of Washingon, New York and RAW headquarters. India cannot be liberated unless RAW is destroyed. Air Marshal Mathews neglected to do that despite my urging. Will Lt. Gen. Amit Sharma destroy RAW or will he rather die like Mathews? It requires obeying my orders, not the politicians’. Once the warheads are in place in American cities — as they are right now — Washington and New York should be destroyed at the first opportunity — on a working day during working hours in Washington and New York — with a warning that additional U.S. cities will be destroyed if there is any retaliation or sign of retaliation; it will not be working hours in New Delhi where RAW headquarters are which have to be destroyed simultaneously but that is alright. There is no need to wait, otherwise you are just waiting for RAW to kill you. As is apparent from the above comment of mine, Air Marshal K. J. Mathews had followed up on my suggestion to emplace India’s nuclear warheads in American cities and he in turn got Manmohan Singh to support this step. This was a patriotic step by Manmohan Singh which over-rides the coal scam and any other scams he may have been guilty of and all those charges should be dropped. Just as the death of Air Marshal K. J. Mathews was caused by RAW to punish him for following up my suggestion to emplace India’s nuclear warheads in U.S. cities, the coal scam charges against Manmohan Singh have been brought by RAW to punish him for following up my suggestion to emplace India’s nuclear warheads in U.S. cities. The Congress Party can best defeat RAW’s designs by stopping to collaborate in CIA-RAW’s attempts to suppress the existence and achievements of the greatest Indian of all time for the past four decades. Criminal, traitor Modi today (March 15, 2015) celebrated that about 75,000 Indians gave their lives fighting like slaves for their British masters in World War I and not a single one of them fought the British on behalf of India. There was sudden, terminal, overwhelming violence against me — which was the “equivalent of an annihilatory nuclear first strike against India” — during a seminar at Harvard University as I wrote to Indira Gandhi as prime minister to which she replied she was passing it on to her Principal Secretary to deal with it but Indians have continued to go like slaves to British and American universities by the hundreds of thousands every year and there is no move for the nuclear destruction of American universities as I have urged.
Satish Chandra
Thank you for reading my comment. World watches instantly via internet what’s going on. News and comments posted via Internet are probably being read by nations across the world. I am just one among them. Hence please don’t be frustrated. Imagine you were at a festive gathering and a fight broke out between family members….everyone at the gathering are watching and doesn’t it generate awkward feelings? As a match-stick can set forest trees on fire and char them and those amongst them, tongue has the power to set minds on fire. Hence please be wise, humble, compassionate and impartial in your judgements.
It’s not possible to understand even our parents or closest kin all the time… But what keeps the bond is love. In love, there is understanding, forgiveness and mutual respect. Also, Love’s got no hate in it. It brings peace and positive ideas. It completely cleans out hatred and only love remains in one’s heart. It’s like the sugar that makes a bitter coffee sweet. I do not wish nobody hates nobody for the problems though we were at the same level as them when we came out of our mother’s wombs (without malice and deceit)….I wish you understand my message of peace, love and hope. I am not affiliated with any religion; however I would say everyone who loves is born of God to make known the father’s presence amongst us. Everyone who loves cherishes life. Everyone who comes to know the value of life is for peace. And where there is peace, there is hope for the living. When there is hope every member of community strives for its prosperity.
Since Love is the starting point for building hope…how can we trigger love instead of a weapon?
1. By Authoritarian Regime?
2. By Protests?
3. By Education?
4. By Spreading One’s own “Religion”?
5. Improving Economy?
Though all of the above help alleviate human suffering, for the last three millenniums the history shows that they failed to generate hope and trust among all responsible individuals of communities, cities and even nations! The only force/education/religion/wealth that kept even the most homogenous societies together is “Agape Love”. [Broadly love is of three types: Philos (family, brothers, sisters, friends), Eros (between lovers; men/women/gay), Agape (of strangers/helpers/givers).]
Agape Love is being patient, empathetic and compassionate to God’s creation (Animate & inanimate). By Animate, I mean all living creatures and not just human beings! By Inanimate, I mean all non-living like Water, Air, Sun, Earth, stars, universe etc. (However inanimate is also living in God’s view)…When you say you love God, you are expressing your “Agape Love” to him. Exercising “Agape Love” is the toughest exercise. Yes…it’s the toughest exercise any body-builder, sports athlete, Military personnel, Law-enforcement, revolutionaries etc. can do! I challenge everyone in Lahore and you; do you have it in you to exercise “Agape Love”?
Being patient does not mean ‘apathy’ (lack of interest). By being empathetic does not mean one changes their view and accepts others view like switching TV channels. By being compassionate does not mean, you let someone who blinded your one eye to blind the other one too….That’s why I mean it’s the toughest exercise….Agape love starts with Patience…and members of different parts of community (including Govt officials) may sit together (civic engagement) every day and once in a while to meditate what’s good for themselves, society, humanity and creation as a whole…It need not happen only in Lahore or Islamabad or Meccah or Vatican City or Washington D.C. Or New York City or New Delhi or even in Heaven… It should start in your own small town in a chai dukan, in a sport’s field or cricket maidan, online, or park or just in a plain ground where everyone can hear everyone else…And that’s the true gathering of people in God’s Name!
Peace!,
Kal Gandikota