Christian and Muslim leaders joined in reflection and prayer at a meeting to mark Pakistan’s national day on 23rd March, reports Agenzia Fides.
The Catholic news agency reported that the meeting, organised by a Catholic Church commission and presided over by the Archbishop of Lahore, Sebastian Francis Shaw, saw participants praying for and committing themselves to “promoting inter-religious harmony, peace and progress of the nation” as well as praying for the protection of the nation’s minorities.
“It is urgent to become promoters of peace and harmony not only within our families but also in our neighborhoods, in our cities, so that the dignity of all is respected and peace and goodness prevail in our society,” Archbishop Shaw was quoted as saying. “We must be vigilant and remain united against those who wish to separate us.”
Earlier, Fr Francis Nadeem, of the church’s National Commission for Inter-religious Dialogue and Ecumenism, held a prayer meeting with Christian and Muslim children in Lahore to commemorate the national day.
Fides reports that Fr Nadeem encouraged the children to “be operators of peace not only within their families but also in schools and on the streets, so that peace prevails in society”.
Pakistan Day is held on 23rd March each year to commemorate the Lahore Resolution, passed on 23rd March, 1940, in which Muslims on the Indian subcontinent formally demanded a separate homeland.
