Daily Times

LAHORE: The second meeting of Pakistan Catholic Bishops Conference (PCBC) expressed deep concern over the extraordinarily belated census in the country and demanded to hold census on priority basis.

The meeting was held the other day at Renewal Centre in which bishops of Catholic Christians community across Pakistan participated. The speakers on the occasion said PCBC believed that timely Censuses are always important for the state’s good governance and better management. They said that PCBC was keenly aspiring to know the Christian population and their ratio in Pakistan in order to conveniently provide them spiritual and social services.

Since there were rumours of the holding census in the near future, the bishops urged the priests, catechists and teachers to educate the Christian populace to get their names registered in the process.

The bishops sternly criticised the increasing corruption in the country and drew immediate attention of the government to take strong action to get rid of the existing chaos in the society and daringly wipe out every tint of corruption from the sacred face of beloved motherland.

Bishops further hailed the previous government for quota of minorities in jobs and other employment opportunities. “We strongly support the government to strictly sustain its implementation in face of the present tendency and keep proper check on irregularities caused by the people of vested interest,” they added.

The participants said that the Catholic Church and other churches of various denominations in Pakistan have taken keen interest in reading and studying the bill to be presented before the parliament on two acts, The Christian Marriage Act of 1872 and The Divorce Act of 1869.

The Catholic Church, along with all the major denominations of Christians, has studied the draft acts with the secretarial help of National Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) so that the teachings of the Holy Bible, Christian tradition and contemporary opinions are fully respected.

They also urged for calm and peace in the country. “It looks as if our country’s peaceful coexistence and calm have all evaporated into the ether leaving the country in the tight grip of the extremism, sectarian killings, target killings, terrorism, uncertainty and insecurity.