Lahore, Pakistan, Jan 9, 2008 / 08:42 am
Catholics in Pakistan joined their countrymen in grieving for Benazir Bhutto with a special Mass in Lahore on Sunday.
UCA News reports that more than 300 people including nuns, human rights activists, and leaders from Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) were in attendance.
Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, who also heads the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, concelebrated the memorial Mass with Father Andrew Nisari, vicar general of the archdiocese.
Attendees placed garlands, bouquets, and candles by the large portraits of Bhutto at the altar and in front of the cathedral. They displayed banners reading: "We salute Benazir Bhutto for struggling for the restoration of minorities' rights and prosperity for the poor," "She was a hope for minorities" and "We demand immediate arrest of the killers of Bhutto."