Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – “We give thanks to God for having placed an authentic martyr in our path, a witness to Christian faith, who was able to 'say' and 'do'. Shahbaz Bhatti is a reminder that in the Cross we find true hope: the Cross propels us to give our lives for others,” said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, celebrating the Memorial Mass for Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, killed in Islamabad on 2 March. The Eucharist, organised by the Pakistani Christians in Italy (see Fides 04/03/2011), was celebrated in Rome at the Pontifical College of St Peter Apostle, in the presence of a large community of priests, seminarians, religious sisters and lay people from Pakistan, in an atmosphere of prayer and sincere emotion.
The Cardinal said that “to be Christian is always to make a choice: between light and darkness, between faith and law, between life and death, between God revealed by Jesus and the wisdom of men, between serving and ruling.” And Shahbaz Bhatti in his “bright life”, “had chosen Christ as Saviour, the Church as mother, and every human being as a brother. His life was and will always be a life given, a sacrifice offered to God. As he desired, we can find him at the foot of the Cross of Jesus.”
The Cardinal cited a sentence of the Minister's spiritual testament: “I do not want positions of power, I just want a place at Jesus' feet,” inviting the congregation to “be taken by the hand of our friend Shahbaz Bhatti” and to follow him “to the Cross of Jesus.”
He added: “We give thanks to God for having placed an authentic martyr in our path, a witness to Christian faith, who was able to 'say' and 'do'. Shahbaz Bhatti is a reminder that in the Cross we find true hope: the Cross propels us to give our lives for others. The Cross reminds us that love is stronger than hate. The Cross means that God is always greater than us and, above all, that life is stronger than death.” Shahbaz Bhatti was able to say: “I no longer have any words to say. I dedicate my life to Jesus!”, “He shared with many in Pakistan that Christian love does not exclude anyone.”
The Cardinal also recalled his visit to Pakistan in November 2010, confiding that Minister Bhatti said: “I know that they will kill me. I offer my life for Christ and for interreligious dialogue.”
In concluding his homily, Cardinal Tauran offered a “message of communion in faith, hope and charity to all our Catholic brothers and sisters in Pakistan.” Finally he quoted Benedict XVI's Message for World Day of Peace 2011, in which the Pope calls “the leaders of the great religions of the world and leaders of nations to renew their commitment to the promotion and protection of religious freedom, particularly for the protection of religious minorities.”
The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who attended the Mass with a delegation, also expressed their condolences to the Catholic community in Pakistan and asked the Pakistani government to prosecute those guilty of the murder, to protect religious minorities, to work for the protection of human rights, religious freedom and the rule of law in Pakistan. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 7/3/2011)
