No mention of Shahbaz Bhatti in Sunday church services

Most of the banners for him were put up by the MQM.

KARACHI:

On a quiet Sunday morning, Rt Rev Sadiq Daniel asked the congregation of the Holy Trinity Cathedral to pray for Pakistan, its political leadership and the country’s future.

But there was no mention of the late federal minister for minorities’ affairs, Shahbaz Bhatti, who was assassinated on March 2.

Helen Turner, who attended the service at the cathedral, said, “I thought they would mention him, no? After all, he was with the Christians and the minorities.” No special prayers were offered this Sunday for the Catholic Bhatti in any of the other major churches in Karachi, including St Patrick’s Cathedral and St Andrew’s Church.

“They must have mentioned him in Thursday’s service,” said Eugene Romeo. “On the first Sunday of every month there is a special prayer for the country, for the Christian community, for politicians, for the deprived — regardless of their faith — and for the sick.”

While the Christians in the Punjab managed to come out in huge numbers - almost 15,000 people attended Bhatti’s funeral - the same numbers have not been seen in Karachi yet. Even the banners condemning Bhatti’s assassination outside all major churches have been placed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement.

When asked why he was not mentioned in Sunday’s English service, Rev Shahid Sabir said, “We will offer a prayer in the Urdu service. Special prayers have been scheduled for March 8.” St Patrick’s Cathedral and Holy Trinity Cathedral will both hold memorial prayers for Bhatti this week.

On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, urged that the “moving sacrifice” of Bhatti, inspire “courage and commitment to strive for religious freedom for all men”.

Security is undoubtedly a concern for Christians, as churches have little to no presence of law-enforcement personnel outside their places of worship. On Friday evening, a sole police officer sat near the gate of the Holy Trinity Church. He said he had only been deployed because there was a wedding inside. Saddar SP Irshad Ali Raza Saher said, “We generally have a security presence at churches, especially during the time of worship.”

“The area police did call,” said Rev Sabir, “but there is no appropriate security.”

“We cannot raise an army to protect all the churches,” says Bishop Ijaz Inayat. “Why should we ask for security? It is the state’s duty to provide security. The government has failed in its duty and it should quit.”

The Christians and their places of worship have been attacked a number of times, including in 2004 when a bomb blast took place outside the Pakistan Bible Society. In 2010 and 2009, churches were vandalised in different areas of the city.

“Our society is numb and our conscience is dead,” Bishop Inayat said. “Discrimination has been going on for decades, and the victimisation has increased because of the blasphemy law.”

While Rev Sabir said Bhatti was not as active among the Christians in Karachi, others begged to differ. “He came to Karachi to condole my father’s death a few months ago,” recalled Victor Javed, a parishioner at St Jude’s Church in North Nazimabad’s DeSilva Town. “Even if he was not there in times of joy, he was always there in times of grief. He had a good character, and he would always personally offer condolences to families. There have been a large number of prayers and services for him in our church.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2011.