Pakistan: "bringing Christ to the youth of this
beautiful country"
LAHORE: 8 May 2011 -- "I can imagine what many readers are
thinking when reading about celebrating in Pakistan these
days… but this has nothing to do with the recent killing of
Osama Bin Laden. Once again Pakistan has made it to the
headlines for a piece of news we knew over here all the
while… that he was right amongst us. No wonder during our
Relief Work after the 2005 Earthquake I always said that “I
think I have met OBL a number of times because they all look
like him! Well, we have decided to share
good family news from these recent days to disperse the
concern we know many confreres would be feeling about our
security. Despite the efforts of the international media to
paint Pakistan yet once again as a country where the action
we have been reading about is likely to trigger a violent
reaction, the fact is that life goes on as normal around us.
There have been rallies in a few cities but the one in the
Capital just yesterday for example could not gather more
than 100 islamists. We decided then not to change our
routine and, unlike other Christian Schools in our city, had
regular classes.
The Feast of St Dominic Savio was a
beautiful one for the event that took place in our home: 6
young men were baptized and another 5 received their First
Communion. It was the best offer we could make to honour our
young saint. It was a simple but heartfelt ceremony with all
our boarders celebrating the sacramental rites with devotion
and intensity.
Our Hostel is by now the largest for
Christian youth in the entire nation… and we now need to
double it to cope with the demand and better serve local
youth! The recently retired Archbishop Emeritus of Lahore
has just today shared the table with our Community in
thanksgiving for the work done in his Diocese for the last
10 years.
But the celebrations were not over yet -
on May 7 three of our clerics renewed their Religious
Profession in Quetta as a sign of faithfulness to the
commitment made a few years ago, and their love for Don
Bosco and for the Church. They are the best proof of how
important the Salesian charism is for this land, so much in
need of peace and hope.
We Salesians do not intend to allow
ourselves be swallowed up by the torrent of news about
Osama’s death these days. We have our own good news and will
continue to focus on bringing Christ to the youth of this
beautiful country". _________________
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