Pakistani bishops meet Prime
Minister, contribute to water reserves
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| A delegation of Pakistan's Catholic Church with Prime Minister, Imran Khan, in Islamabad, July 4, 2019 |
A delegation of the Catholic Church of Pakistan met Prime
Minister Imran Khan on July 4 and expressed the concerns and issues of the
Christians of the country. They also made a contribution to help improve the
country’s water reserves.
By Robin Gomes
A delegation of the Catholic bishops and leaders of Pakistan
met Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday and expressed the concerns and issues
of the Christians of the country. They also handed the prime
ministers a contribution in efforts to developing the country’s water reserves.
Bishop Benny Mario Travas of Multan, Secretary-General of
the Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (PCBC) told the Vatican’s Fides news agency
that the prime minister who welcomed the delegation in his office in the
capital, Islamabad, expressed appreciation for the good work of the Church for
the development of Pakistan.
Responding to the concerns regarding the Christian community
in the country, he said, Imran Khan reiterated the government's commitment to
making every effort possible to meet the challenges that minority communities
face.
Water reserves
PCBC President, Archbishop Joseph Arshad of
Islamabad-Rawalpindi handed the Prime Minister a cheque of 5,650,000 Pakistani
Rupees (about 32,470 Euros) as a contribution to a fund for developing the
Diamer-Bhasha and Mahmand dams.
The bishops decided in November 2018 to raise funds to
support the water reservoir initiative launched by the then president of the
Supreme Court of Pakistan, Mian Saqib Nisar. He had set up this specific
fund for the two dams. The initiative was supported by Imran Khan who,
after becoming the Prime Minister of Pakistan, continued with the commitment to
build these large water reserves in Pakistan.
Bishop Samson Shukardin of Hyderabad explained to Fides that
the bishops had written to their faithful asking them to raise funds to help
the government’s initiative. What the bishops offered to the prime
minister is the result of the generosity of the faithful.
Environment, climate change
Bishop Shukardin said, "Every year we see the effects
of climate change and intense heat during summer.” “We suffer from water
shortages and other related crises,” he noted. “We Bishops felt the need
to support this cause and we took the initiative to encourage our priests and
faithful to contribute generously."
The Catholic Church of Pakistan is made up of the six
dioceses of Karachi, Hyderabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Islamabad-Rawalpindi,
Multan and the Vicariate Apostolic of Quetta.
The Bishop explained that the Church is already at the
service of the country providing quality education and health care services
through colleges, schools, hospitals and social works. In recent years,
he said, they also have contributed to the protection of the environment, combatting
global warming and raising awareness among the people about using water
responsibly and conserving it.
Bishop Shukardin said each diocese works to protect the
environment, in collaboration with government offices in their respective
territories. Throughout Pakistan, Christians have helped plant over 10 million
trees through Caritas Pakistan, the social arm of the Catholic Church in
Pakistan.
The Catholic Church is with the government and institutions
also in improving the country’s water reserves, for the common good.
(Source: Fides)
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