Saudis arrest 40 Pakistani Catholics

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Archbishop Pleas on Behalf of 40 Pakistani Christians

Arrested in Saudi Arabia During Mass

FAISALABAD, Pakistan, MAY 18, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The Catholic Church and human rights groups are asking Pakistan’s government to intervene on behalf of 40 Pakistani Christians, arrested by Saudi Arabia’s religious police.

Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, called on the authorities to act “immediately” in order to get the release of those detained in Riyadh by the muttawa, reported AsiaNews.

“The government must treat this case without any religious discrimination and act on behalf of its citizens who are living abroad,” said the archbishop.

The 40 Pakistani Christians were arrested April 23 as they celebrated Mass in a private residence in the city of Riyadh.

Policemen who raided the premises, where the Eucharist was being celebrated, found Christian books and audiovisual material.

In Saudi Arabia it is illegal to practice any religion other than Islam.

It is not yet clear what might happen to those arrested, as the Saudi authorities have not yet made any public comment about the incident.

Pakistani authorities have also been silent; there has been no word of condemnation for the action or any expression of solidarity towards the victims.

Archbishop Saldanha, who chairs the National Commission for Justice and Peace, called the arrest “a serious example of religious discrimination and human rights violation,” and urged the Saudi government to “respect religious freedom.”

Numerous Pakistani and international human rights groups have appealed to the Pakistani government to ensure the liberation of the 40 Pakistani Christians. In particular, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan sent a letter to the Pakistani foreign minister.

“Given your proven commitment to upholding human rights, we urge you to take up the matter with Saudi authorities and seek the immediate release of these unfortunate persons and provide them the assistance and support they urgently require,” said the letter signed by the commission’s secretary-general Syed Iqbal Haider.

According to Voice of the Martyrs spokesman Todd Nettleton, Christians from less powerful countries face greater persecution.

“They could face a long period in prison,” he said. “We’ve seen people from less powerful countries held for long periods of time, and in one case sentenced to death,” added the spokesman.
:nope:

Make sure to pray for them. :gopray2:
 
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John_19_59:
Don’t you like it?
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Being a smart aleck is not appealing.

For others, it is distressing that we haven’t weaned ourselves off of middle Eastern even though Christians have been persecuted there for 1400 years. It is also distressing that the West, all of it, has worshipped at the feet of Saudi Oil for as long as we’ve used oil. We cover for the Wahhabist butchers and their Saudi sychophants so we can keep Saudi oil flowing into our economy. We pay for worldwide terrorism with our refusal to stop buying oil from them. It isn’t just this president that has done this. I don’t understand why we haven’t made more progress in developing our own resources and in developing alternative fuels.

Dan L
 
Being a smart aleck is not appealing.
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The Saudis are surely carrying out the dictates of the religion protected by St John the Baptist.

Forty years of “dialogue” gets us this.
 
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GregoryPalamas:
I don’t understand why we haven’t made more progress in developing our own resources and in developing alternative fuels.
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Becausae it is cheaper to buy oil than put money in alternative fuels. Now that the price of oil has gone up dramatically (mostly due to the weakness of the dollar against the Euro and increased demand from China) alternative energy looks more economically viable.

Another thing is the possibility of sand oil. In Alberta Canada, there is a vast oil fuel, but the oil is mixed with a large amount of sand. Right now, it is too expensive to remove the sand from the oil, so it is cheaper to buy oil from nasty places like Saudi Arabia or Venezuela. But with prices going up, it will soon, with current technolgy, be economically viable to tap into this oil.

Then add things like hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells, and in 20 years, if we really really want to, we could be free of Middle Eastern oil.
 
Wow, how sad. It must be a terrible decision to make against practicing your religion or obeying the laws of the country you are in.

I wonder who these Pakistanis are that have been arrested. Are they there as workers, or were they just traveling through the country?

I will pray for the compassion of the officials in this case so that they will let the Christians go unharmed.
 
OK.

This is OUTRAGEOUS!

I wonder if any of these Catholics were converts from Islam (in which case they can expect a beheading for apostacy).

What is the Vatican going to do about this?

(Its a retorical question. The Vatican will do zilch in this don’t rock the religious boat era.)

40 years of ecumenical dialogue with a false religion has got us exactly nowhere. (As if dialogue with a false religion could end anywhere else).

Islam is a religion created by the father of lies.
 
I was planning on a quiet weekend…looks like I’m gonna’ have to suit up and go on in… be back for a smoke and a shot in a few days…
 
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John_19_59:
Islam is a religion created by the father of lies.
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That’s not what the Church says. You ought to follow the Church and not your own imaginative opinion about this.
 
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Sola:
Wow, how sad. It must be a terrible decision to make against practicing your religion or obeying the laws of the country you are in.

I wonder who these Pakistanis are that have been arrested. Are they there as workers, or were they just traveling through the country?

I will pray for the compassion of the officials in this case so that they will let the Christians go unharmed.
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The Pakistanis are workers and they are still in the jail. Please pray for their release.
In Christ,
selvaraj
Saudi Arabia
 
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John_19_59:
OK.

This is OUTRAGEOUS!

I wonder if any of these Catholics were converts from Islam (in which case they can expect a beheading for apostacy).

What is the Vatican going to do about this?

(Its a retorical question. The Vatican will do zilch in this don’t rock the religious boat era.)

40 years of ecumenical dialogue with a false religion has got us exactly nowhere. (As if dialogue with a false religion could end anywhere else).

Islam is a religion created by the father of lies.
Click to expand...
Now you are speaking plainly and need not to have an interpreter. I agree.

Dan L
 
That’s not what the Church says. You ought to follow the Church and not your own imaginative opinion about this.
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Which article of faith am I in breech of? (I’ll give you a clue: None!)

I do follow the Church.

But the Church has reversed its teaching on Islam since 1965.

How can that be? Which do I choose? Over a thousand years of teaching or 1960’s novelty?

My own “imaginative opinion” is actually what the Church taught before 1965.
 
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EsclavoDeCristo:
This is just one example of persecution of Catholic Christians! There are believers that tortured and murdered daily yet we do nothing. Most of us don’t even realize that its going on.

Check out this thread!
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=55916
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Well, I fully agree. What can be done? We don’t have armies any longer.

I wish our priests would bring these matters to our attention on a regular basis and call for offerings or offer ways to otherwise get involved. Do you think if the missionary vocation were called for on a consistent basis that we would have more missionaries? Do you think that priests are generally aware of these things? Do you believe that enough of our people check out these things or do they simply throw away all missionary appeals?

Dan L
 
Well, I fully agree. What can be done? We don’t have armies any longer.
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Well we could pray to St Michael at the end of Mass - like we used to.
 
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GregoryPalamas:
Well, I fully agree. What can be done? We don’t have armies any longer.

I wish our priests would bring these matters to our attention on a regular basis and call for offerings or offer ways to otherwise get involved. Do you think if the missionary vocation were called for on a consistent basis that we would have more missionaries? Do you think that priests are generally aware of these things? Do you believe that enough of our people check out these things or do they simply throw away all missionary appeals?

Dan L
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As they say, the squeeky wheel gets the grease. I think we need to stand up and talk about it until we are blue in the face. I cringe when I think about my final judgement. God is going to ask me what I did for these people. I know I can’t change my past but I can change my future. I hope that I can look back and know I did what I could. I did missionary work in Latin America and I know there are users on here that have done service in persecuted countries like in Sudan and China. As far as starting something, I dont really know how to go about it. I will continue looking for people whom I can support and join. You can check out the missionaries I served with at missioners.org The website isnt that good but should be updated soon.
 
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Richardols:
That’s not what the Church says. You ought to follow the Church and not your own imaginative opinion about this.
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It is neither doctrine nor faith. The Church has not, and can not define, under the pain of sin that Islam worships the same God we worship. They have taken an ecumenical stance.
 
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