ASIA/PAKISTAN - Believers unite to counter the tsunami tragedy: together Christians and Muslims pray for victims

Friday, 7 January 2005

Lahore (Fides Service) - Over the past few days in various parts of Pakistan Christian and Muslim communities came together to pray for all the victims of the recent tsunami disaster, Franciscan Fr Francis Nadeem, secretary of the Pakistani Bishops’ Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue told Fides. A prayer vigil was organised in Lahore on 1 January and similar services and acts of solidarity with disaster struck people in south east Asia were held in many other cities and towns.
Many of the missionaries in Pakistan are from Sri Lanka “and this brought the tragedy all the closer to us” Fr Nadeem told Fides adding that the people responded very generously to appeals for concrete solidarity.
The president of the Commission, Bishop Andrew Francis of Multan wrote a letter to the Muslim leaders thanking Muslims for taking part in the interreligious prayers and he recalled St Francis of Assisi who was like a bridge between Christianity and Islam. The Bishop said the tsunami affected people of all beliefs, but it also united everyone in grief. Words of solidarity and sympathy came also from many other Christian religious Orders present in Pakistan. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 7/1/2005 righe 23 parole 234)


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