Cardinal Vincent Nichols and the Anglican bishop with oversight for Pakistan issues came together to pray for the couple and their unborn daughter who were burned to death by a mob near Lahore last week.
The cardinal, who is president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and the Bishop of Wakefield, Tony Robinson, lit candles and prayed in St Anne's Cathedral in Leeds for peace and the repose of the souls of Sajjeed Mashah, 27, and his wife Shama Bibi, 24.
Javeed Masseeh, a relative, said that the couple, both indentured labourers, had had their legs broken so they could not run away and were held over the brick furnace in Kot Radha Kishan, 40 miles south of Lahore, until their clothes caught fire. They were then thrown inside the furnace. Mrs Bibi, a mother of four, was four months pregnant.
The bishops condemned the actions of the 1,200-strong mob in Pakistan who burned the couple following rumours they had burned verses of the Qu’ran. The bishops also appealed to the Pakistani Government to bring the perpetrators to justice and protect the rights of minorities.
The bishops' prayer for peace and the repose of the souls of Sajjeed and Shama followed Ecumenical Vespers, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the second Vatican Council's groundbreaking Ecumenical decree Unitatis Redintegratio.
Bishop Robinson is Chairman of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Pakistan Focus Group. He visited the country in March and discussed with President Mamnoon Hussain the persecution of minorities.
Cardinal Nichols said: "This is a horrific and tragic event which sullies the reputation of a great nation. Surely all people of true religious spirit will, in response, turn to God in prayer, seeking forgiveness for the violence and destruction of life, pleading for peace in our troubled world.
Bishop Robinson said: “The Pakistan Government must do more to protect minorities in Pakistan from mob rule and a misuse of the blasphemy laws. We must … work to change the attitudes of those who persecute people of another faith.”
The President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, said the international community must pressurise the Government of Pakistan to review its blasphemy laws.
“I am shocked by the immense barbarity of this act,” he added.
The Justice and Peace commission of the Pakistani bishops’ conference complained that “there is no political will” to address the persecution of Christians and other Pakistanis who are not Muslim.
Bishop Rufin Anthony of Islamabad denounced the culpable silence of Muslim leaders who have so far failed to condemn forcefully what is being called “the worst religiously motivated hate crime in Pakistan's history”.
The Governor of Punjab, Chaudry Muhammad Sarwar, who served as a British Labour MP from 1997 to 2010, did condemn the murders as “inexcusable barbarity” in the name of religion.
Mr Sarwar’s predecessor, Salman Taseer, was assassinated in 2011 for his opposition to the country’s blasphemy laws.
Above: Cardinal Nichols and Bishop Robinson unite in prayer. Photo: CBCEW
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