Father Khalid Rehmat, custos of the Capuchins in Pakistan, has been named as the new vicar apostolic of Quetta in Balochistan province. (Photo supplied)
By Kamran Chaudhry, Lahore
Jan 5 2021
We can heal the world by improving our relationship within mankind and with our environment
Joy was in the air when Pakistan Catholic Bishops’ Conference inaugurated the Year of Youth 2020 in a colorful ceremony at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore. Then the world came to a standstill due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hope of a better year in 2021 dwindled after Sindh Health Department reported the first three cases of the new Covid-19 strain in the southern port city of Karachi. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s government has initiated a search for dozens of passengers who arrived in the northern province from Britain.
Pakistan is already grappling with the second wave of the novel coronavirus. It has registered 486,634 cases since the pandemic began, while the official death toll has risen to 10,311, according to Ministry of National Health data.
The deadly pathogen also affected Christmas celebrations, adding to the challenges of these unusual times. No churches hosted traditional fairs in their compounds. Most of them ignored social distancing during and especially at the end of Christmas Mass. Many attended these gatherings gripped in a mask amid fears of contracting the virus. Covid-19, instead of terrorism targeting religious feasts, was their greatest concern.
In Multan, the Cathedral of the Holy Redeemer Parish canceled Christmas festivities after Bishop Benny Mario Travas, chairman of Caritas Pakistan, isolated himself after he tested positive for Covid-19. Dancing and Bollywood songs were prohibited in the annual Christmas get-together at Caritas Pakistan’s national secretariat in Lahore.
“We are living in a time marked by loneliness during this pandemic period. But we believe that God never abandons his people and he is with us,” said Archbishop Evarist Pinto, archbishop emeritus of Karachi.
Just when it seemed like everything was bad news, Pope Francis surprised us all with a New Year gift of naming Father Khalid Rehmat, custos of the Capuchins in Pakistan, as the new vicar apostolic of Quetta in Balochistan province.
The apostolic vicariate was vacant following the death of Sri Lankan Bishop Victor Gnanapragasam on Dec. 12. Congratulations to the Capuchins of Pakistan for their first Pakistani bishop. Congratulations to Lahore Archdiocese as well. Once again, it is a mark of the greatness of this eastern diocese to produce another bishop.
Both Cardinal Joseph Coutts and the late Bishop Andrew Francis of Multan were ordained priests in Lahore. Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Pakistan, began his priestly education at St. Mary’s Minor Seminary in Lahore. This grandmother archdiocese gave birth to Faisalabad and Multan dioceses.
Bishop-elect Rehmat may not have lived in Pakistan’s most volatile province but his charism as a religious makes him a perfect fit for the missionary diocese. The mission of Quetta was given to the Oblates in 1982 by the southern Diocese of Hyderabad. It is important that as the Oblates leave this vicariate, it is taken up by another congregation.
The new vicar apostolic will now face challenges of rugged mountainous terrain and long journeys to thinly populated communities. I wish him all the success in the world. – UCANews
