Karachi, Pakistan, Jun 27, 2018 / 12:07 pm
Ahead of tomorrow's Vatican consistory, Pakistani Archbishop Joseph Coutts sees his upcoming elevation to the rank of cardinal as a sign of papal concern for a country coping with the heightened presence of extremist groups.
Archbishop Coutts of Karachi will become a cardinal at a June 28 consistory at the Vatican, alongside 13 other prelates representing the global Church and a variety of Vatican offices.
In an interview with CNA ahead of the ceremony, Coutts warned that his country is facing the threat of growing extremism from those pushing for a strict Islamic state.
The general atmosphere of religious freedom encapsulated in the nation's founding has been eroded and now faces new threats from more radical strains of Islamic thought seeping into the country, he said.