Aug 24, 2006 / 22:00 pm
Speaking to officials with Aid to the Church in Need, the apostolic prefect of Quetta in the province of Baluchistan in western Pakistan, Monsignor Victor Gnanapragasam, said, "Despite the hostility, the Catholics are standing by their faith".
"It is extremely difficult to even reach the faithful in this remote region of desert and inaccessible mountain ranges", Msgr. Gnanapragasam noted. "But even when we cannot visit them for a long time, they continue to meet regularly for prayer and catechesis".
He said Christians of all denominations are truly among the poorest of the poor in Pakistan and that are only given the jobs that nobody else will do, such as sweeping, cleaning, and other menial tasks. Therefore, he called on upon Christian believers around the world not to forget the witness or the plight of the Christians in Pakistan.
He also expressed his gratitude for the commitment of the Catholic religious sisters and brothers who work within the prefecture of Quetta, especially the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, who care for girls and young women who find themselves in difficulties as a result of forced marriages or pregnancies.
Currently in Quetta nine other priests and 20 religious sisters attend to some 28,716 Catholics spread throughout and area nearly the size of Germany.