wfn.org | 'Our fears have come true,' says Pakistani bishop after massacre in

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church
30-October-2001
01404  
  
'Our fears have come true,' says Pakistani bishop after massacre in church

15 worshipers gunned down during Sunday services 

by Anto Akkara
Ecumenical News International
  
NEW DELHI - An emotional funeral was held Oct. 29 at St Dominic's church in
the town of Bahawalpur in Pakistan's Punjab province for the 15 members of
the Church of Pakistan massacred inside the same church during the previous
day's Sunday service.

	Unidentified gunmen sprayed bullets on the Protestant congregation just
before 9 a.m. Oct. 28 as participants were singing the closing hymn of the
Sunday service at this Catholic church used by the local Church of Pakistan
congregation for its services.

	Among the dead was the church's pastor, Emmanuel Allah Ditta, who was
leading the 100-member congregation when the gunmen stormed the church after
killing a policeman on guard at the church gates. The government had posted
police security at the request of the Christian community, who felt they
needed protection after the start of the United States-led military action
against Afghanistan.

	"Fifteen of our people have been killed. Five are critical in hospital and
10 others have been discharged [from hospital] after treatment for minor
injuries," said Church of Pakistan Bishop John Victor Mall of the Multan
diocese. No groups had claimed responsibility for the killings.

	Talking to ENI over the phone from Bahawalpur - 100 kilometers from his
diocesan office - where he rushed on Sunday on hearing of the tragedy,
Bishop Mall said: "We have been feeling very insecure [after the bombing of
Afghanistan began on October 7 and now, our fears have come true."

	Bishop Mall said that "though the government provided security to us, this
shows how vulnerable we are."

	Dominican nun Anna Bakshi, a witness to events on Sunday, said: "Not a
single wall of the church is without bullet marks. Those who ran to the
sacristy and hid themselves escaped unhurt."

	Principal of the Dominican convent school adjacent to the Catholic church,
Bakshi told ENI that she "was terrified by the sound of the shooting of the
automatic guns" coming from the church.

	"Everything was over in five minutes, and I saw four men with beards
running away from the church. The scene inside the church was heart-breaking
with even small children and women lying in pool of blood," recounted the
nun, one of the first to enter the church after the shootings.

	Roman Catholic Bishop Andrew Francis of Multan said: "The alter is riddled
with bullet marks. They [the gunmen] have rained bullets on our people and
there is blood all over the church." Bishop Francis also hurried to
Bahawalpur as soon as he heard about the shootings inside the Catholic
church.

	"I certainly feel that it is a pro-Taliban outfit that has carried out the
attack," Bishop Francis told ENI.

	Churches in Pakistan had been demanding that the government provide
security to churches and Christian institutions, fearing that angry crowds
would vent their ire on the minority Christian community if the U.S. and its
allies attacked Afghanistan in the name of countering terrorism.

	"We were concerned about our security but never thought that something of
this sort would happen to us," said the Dominican nun. "I feel that this
[the massacre] is retaliation for all that is happening in Afghanistan now."

	The people are "so scared that they did not want to take the bodies to
their homes," preferring to keep them at the church until the funeral was
over because of the large police presence around the church after the
massacre, the nun added.

	The funeral ceremony was attended by four bishops, including the moderator
of the Church of Pakistan, Bishop S.K. Dass. Nearly 5,000 people joined the
funeral procession to the cemetery.

	Bishop Dass described the massacre as an act of "revenge" by militant
Islamic groups "thinking that Christians are supporters of America."

	He added that continued attacks on Afghanistan would expose Christians to
greater risk.

	In a statement released on Oct. 28, the National Council of Churches in
Pakistan (NCCP), expressing "utmost grief and sorrow" over the killings,
deplored "this heinous and barbarous act of terrorism" and demanded that
"the Government of Pakistan should hold a judicial inquiry and arrest the
culprits and bring them to justice."

	"The Government of Pakistan should also take appropriate steps to ensure
the safety of all, particularly the Christian community, shocked by this
horrible action of the terrorists," the NCCP said.

	The NCCP groups the Church of Pakistan, Presbyterian Church, Salvation Army
and Association of Reformed Presbyterian Churches - accounting for nearly
half of the three million Christians in Pakistan.

	Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf condemned the attack, blaming it on
"trained terrorist organizations."

	"The methods used and the inhuman tactics employed clearly indicates
involvement of trained terrorists organizations bent upon creating discord
and disharmony in Pakistan where Christians and Muslims have always lived in
peace with mutual respect for each other," Musharraf said in his condolence
message, according to the daily newspaper Dawn.

   	Bishop Mall said that the federal government has announced that it would
offer ex gratia 100,000 rupees (US$1,615) to relatives for each of those
killed and the provincial state government of Punjab has declared that it
would contribute 200,000 rupees each (US$3,230) to the relatives of those
killed, as well as a smaller amount to the injured.

	However, Victor Azariah, NCCP general secretary, told ENI from NCCP offices
in Lahore that the Christians in Pakistan need "more than monetary
compensation."

	"This is the worst attack on us [Pakistani Christians] in our history. We
want the government to try its best to keep us safe," said Azariah.

	Asked whether Christians would carry out street protests against the
massacre, Azariah replied: "We cannot do much in this kind of a situation.
There is already lot of tension. It would be better not to go for such
protests."

	The NCCP will hold an emergency meeting on Oct. 31 to decide on church
strategy for dealing with the "present situation," he added.

	The Christian Liberation Front - an ecumenical advocacy group supported by
both Catholic and Protestant churches - said that Christians "will not keep
silent about this tragic, historic incident."

	In a letter to President Musharraf, the World Council of Churches (WCC) - a
fellowship of 342 churches world-wide - expressed concern "about the safety
and security of the Christian minority in the present highly charged
environment of religious intolerance" and supported the NCCP in calling for
a judicial inquiry into the attack.

	The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), condemning the massacre,
also urged "steps to protect the minorities" in Pakistan. "We also affirm
our solidarity with the National Council of Churches in Pakistan in this
hour of crisis," the NCCI said in a statement on Oct. 29.
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