The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India is deeply distressed at the bomb blast at the All Saints Church, Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 78 and wounding hundreds of innocent Christians, who were assembled in the Church for the Sunday worship. While condemning this dastardly act of violence against a defenceless congregation in worship and prayer, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India commends the souls of the dead to the mercy of God and invokes Divine assistance on those hundreds of suffering Christians, consequent on the bomb blast.

It is disturbing to note that in the recent past, Christians are targeted and attacked by one or other fundamentalist groups, for no fault of theirs, and sometimes for reasons, totally false and fabricated. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India fully endorses the statement of Shri Nawaz Sharif, Hon’ble Prime Minister of Pakistan that ‘targeting innocent people is against the teachings of Islam and that such cruel acts reflect the brutality and inhumane mindset of terrorists’. At the same time, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India calls upon the Government of Pakistan to ensure the safety and security of the minorities and to have recourse to all possible means to quell the fear and apprehension of the minorities and to create an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence with all other sections of the people of Pakistan.

Archbishop Albert D’Souza

Secretary General,

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India

Source: CBCI website