Islamabad – “In my ministry as a Pastor, first in Faisalabad and then in Islamabad, I have come to understand that in Pakistan we must focus on young people, because they represent 60% of the population. They also constitute around 60% of the Christian community. But nearly 80% of them are illiterate, a true educational emergency,” stated Archbishop Joseph Arshad, at the head of the diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, following the ad limina visit of the bishops of Pakistan. “As Pastor of the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi,” he told Fides, “I visited all the parishes and met with young people. By interacting with them, they began to express their needs, especially regarding education and career guidance, as well as Bible courses and sports initiatives.”
Taking note of this need, “we have launched initiatives in the field of education. Young people need education and employment: two fundamental things for our community, which suffers from poverty and marginalization,” the Archbishop explained. “Thus, we have begun to commit ourselves to ensuring that members of our communities can obtain a suitable higher education and be able to compete for jobs in government offices and the public bureaucracy.
For this reason, we have started Central Superior Services courses in the diocese. These are preparatory courses that allow students to pass a state exam and gain access to employment in public offices and government departments.
In Islamabad,” he continued, “we have been offering them for about five years now, with good results.” “Furthermore,” the Archbishop explains, “we had to consider the young people who need an education but come from remote areas. In fact, the Diocese of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, with its 250,000 Catholic faithful, is one of the largest in Pakistan: it extends to Afghanistan, Kashmir, and half of Punjab—very different regions. So we opened a college in Rawalpindi for university students, which welcomes students from all over the diocese, giving them the opportunity to live in the city and attend university.”
“For those young people who cannot access higher education, it is important that they develop professional skills; therefore, we also try to be present and contribute to the field of vocational training,” he continues.
The Catholics, even though they live in disadvantaged conditions, “have a strong and vibrant faith,” he observes. “But we need to emphasize the formation of priests, religious, and laity, and in particular, promote the participation of the laity in the life of the Church.” “In the diocesan pastoral plan, developed with everyone’s input,” he underlines, “our goal is to be an active and faithful community, capable of spreading the Good News.” “The Christian community in Pakistan,” the Archbishop observes, “is small and composed of people who have no voice, who are weak in society. It is a weak, poor, and marginalized community. The dynamic we observe in society is this: the rich are powerful and the poor are powerless. That is why the poor continue to be discriminated against. This mentality is also the basis for phenomena such as accusations of blasphemy, often false, or the abduction and forced conversion to Islam of Christian girls or girls from other non-Muslim communities. At its root is a mentality that people are not all equal; we oppose this mentality, recalling the Constitution and the principle of safeguarding the dignity of every person.”
“Despite the challenges and difficulties,” he concludes, “I am confident in the future of the Church in Pakistan, because the people are strong in faith and do not waver.” At the end of the ad limina visit, he says, “It was very encouraging for us to meet the Pope and feel like a living part of the universal Church. We are a small, young community that needs support. And we hope that, after the historic visit of John Paul II, Pope Leo X will be able to come to Pakistan to strengthen our faith and our hope.”
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