Francis Nadeem

Father Francis Nadeem is a Franciscan Capuchin priest working in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore in Pakistan.

He was chief editor of Catholic Naqib, the Urdu-language Catholic journal, in 1989.[1]

He was the Parish Priest of St. Mary's Church, Gulberg from 2000 to 2002.[2]

Fr. Nadeem, a parish priest from Lahore, was nominated for an Independence Day Award on August 15, 2000 for outstanding service to the country. He has published a number of books on the contribution of Christians to Pakistan.[3]

In 2004, he led Christian and Muslim representatives as they marched together along the India-Pakistan border in Kasur, 55 kilometers south of Lahore, to affirm their desire for peace in Kashmir and support initiatives for dialogue in both countries.[4]

He has been critical of the Ethics textbook for grade nine, approved and published by the Punjab Textbook Board, which lacks a chapter on Christianity and Jesus Christ, which is open discrimination against Christians in Pakistan.[5] Such efforts are marginalising minorities and making them feel like strangers in their own homes. The extremism prevalent during the past few decades shows that there are some forces working in the country to eliminate the minorities from Pakistan.[6]

The President, General Pervez Musharraf, was pleased to confer 150 Pakistan Civil Awards on 14 August 2006, including Tamgha-e-Imtiaz to Father Francis Nadeem for Public Service.[7]

Father Nadeem, who heads the National Council for Interfaith Dialogue in Lahore, criticized the present government for being "unclear" and "very silent" on extending dialogue with India. The priest said he has stopped participating in or organizing Kashmir rallies since the present government came to power last September.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Pakistan Reporters Told Christian Journalists Must Focus On Ordinary People".
  2. ↑ "St. Mary’s Church".
  3. ↑ "UCANews.com August 15, 2000".
  4. ↑ "Zenit 2004-01-16".
  5. ↑ "Daily Times July 27, 2006".
  6. ↑ Khan, Afnan (2009-05-18). "The threat of Pakistan's revisionist texts". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  7. ↑ "Pakistan Civil Awards".
  8. ↑ "Priests speak up for Kashmir peace and freedom UCANews.com 13 February 2009".