wfn.org | Ecumenical delegation to visit churches in Pakistan

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World Council of Churches
Press Release 02-28
For Immediate Use
1 November 2002

Ecumenical delegation to visit churches in Pakistan

Cf. WCC Press Release, Up-02-30, of 2 October 2002

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is sending an ecumenical delegation on a
pastoral visit to Pakistan, 2-9 November. Organized in consultation with the
WCC member churches in the country and the National Council of Churches in
Pakistan, the delegation will visit Karachi and Lahore to listen and learn
from the people about the situation in the country as a result of the war in
Afghanistan, and the challenges facing the churches there. There have been a
series of attacks on Christian churches and institutions in the country since
the war started in Afghanistan.

The visit to Karachi follows the attack on 25 September on the office of
Idara-e-Amn-o-Insaf (Committee for Justice and Peace) in which seven young
Christian workers were killed. The authorities have failed to identify the
attackers but according to news reports, they are alleged to belong to
Islamic extremist groups. Idara-e-Amn-o-Insaf was set up in 1974 by the
diocese of the Roman Catholic Church with the Church of Pakistan to promote
and protect human rights. 

Mr Clement John, executive staff in the WCC International Relations team,
notes that "as the war in Afghanistan intensified, the anger and resentment
amongst the Islamic parties and militant groups increased." He noted that, to
date, none of the perpetrators involved in the series of  attacks have been
brought before a court of law for trial. "The Christian community in Pakistan
is a tiny minority", he says. "It lives in fear of more such attacks."
"Through the visit, we wish to express solidarity with the churches and
Christians in Pakistan and encourage the government to provide safety and
security for the Christian minority there," he explains.

The WCC has two member churches in Pakistan, the Church of Pakistan and the
Presbyterian Church of Pakistan. Christians account for less than three
percent of the country's population.

Members of the delegation include:

Bishop Roger Sainsbury, moderator of Churches' Commission for Racial Justice,
UK 
Dr L. J. Koffeman, advisor for Ecumenical Relations to the general secretary,
Uniting Churches in the Netherlands 
Mr Tony Waworuntu, International Affairs secretary, Christian Conference of
Asia, Hong Kong 
Ms Youngsook C.Kang, deputy general secretary, Mission Contexts &
Relationships/Mission Education, United Methodist Church, USA 
Rev. John Moyer, director, Frontier Internship in Mission (joining the
delegation for part of the visit)
Mr Clement John, International Relations, World Council of Churches

For further information, please contact the Media Relations Office, tel: +41
(0)22 791 64 21

**********

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which
meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in
1948 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary
Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
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