Bishop: Ceasefire spared India and Pakistan ‘very dangerous war’
Catholics on both sides of the border prayed strenously for peace.
A bishop said Sunday that a U.S.-brokered ceasefire has saved India and Pakistan from a “very dangerous war.”
Bishop Samson Shukardin, the president of Pakistan’s bishops’ conference, told UCA News May 11 that the end of four days of clashes between the two nuclear powers was “a good thing.”
“We once again call for dialogue — war is not a solution,” the Bishop of Hyderabad in Pakistan said.
Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after an April 22 terrorist attack near Pahalgam, in the disputed Kashmir region. Kashmir, located in the northernmost part of the Indian subcontinent, is divided into territories administered by India, Pakistan, and China.
The attack took place in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Islamist militants killed a group of 26 tourists, who were mainly Hindus but included a Christian and a local Muslim.
The Christian was identified as Sushil Nathaniel, a 58-year-old Catholic reportedly shot dead because he did not comply when asked to recite an Islamic declaration of faith on his knees.
On April 23, Bishop Ivan Pereira, whose Diocese of Jammu-Srinagar covers Indian-administered territories in the disputed Kashmir region, condemned the “brutal and cowardly” terrorist attack.
India responded May 7 with missile strikes on what it said were militants’ camps and infrastructure.
Bishop Pereira reported the same day that two students living near a diocesan-run school were killed and a convent damaged in shelling from Pakistan. He said that the Christ School — located in Poonch, beside the military Line of Control separating territories administered by India and Pakistan — was closed for a vacation, preventing further casualties.
But a third student was later reported to have died.
Pakistan launched retaliatory strikes May 10 on Indian military bases, raising fears of a major escalation in the conflict.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, which brings together the country’s Latin Rite, Syro-Malabar, and Syro-Malankara bishops, declared a day of prayer for peace May 11.
In a message read out in churches, CBCI president Archbishop Andrews Thazhath appealed for prayers for “an end to all forms of violence, terrorism, and war.”
Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil, the head of the Syro-Malabar Church, one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with Rome, echoed Thazhath’s appeal.
“The war-like situation prevailing on the border with Pakistan is a matter of great concern,” he said May 10. “Our rulers and soldiers are maintaining utmost vigilance to safeguard the sovereignty of the nation and the safety of its people.”
“In this context, as responsible citizens, let us earnestly pray for our motherland and for peace.”
President Donald Trump announced May 10 that India and Pakistan had agreed to a “full and immediate ceasefire,” following U.S.-mediated talks.
Fr. Qaisar Feroz, a pastor in Pakistan’s Punjab province, which borders India, told the Fides news agency that children and families were praying at a grotto and shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace when they heard the news.
“At the end of the prayer, we released some doves as a symbol of peace and the children's fervent desire, holding signs reading ‘Yes to Peace, No to War,’” said the pastor of Our Lady Queen of Angels, Bhai Pheru.
“At the end of the rosary, we received the wonderful news of the announcement of a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. Now we hope that it will hold and that we can create a just and lasting peace between the peoples.”
Archbishop Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi said May 10 that the ceasefire brought “glad tidings of peace and hope.”
“This moment should be seized as an opportunity to build lasting stability in the region,” said Arshad, the first Pakistani priest to join the Vatican diplomatic service.
India and Pakistan’s dispute over the Kashmir region dates back to 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into the Muslim-majority dominion of Pakistan and the dominion of India, a secular state with a Hindu majority. The ruler of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India, despite its Muslim-majority population.
Ever since, both India and Pakistan have claimed the territory in full, but according to some estimates they respectively control around 55% and 30% of the area, with the remaining 15% held by China.
India, which has a population of roughly 1.4 billion, and Pakistan, which has around 247 million people, have fought four major wars, in 1947-1948, 1965, 1971, and 1999. In addition, there have been frequent skirmishes along the Line of Control, including in 2001-2002 and 2019.
Both India and Pakistan confirmed their ability to deploy nuclear weapons in 1998, raising fears that any conflict between the two nations could descend into nuclear war.
There are more than 20 million Catholics in India and fewer than 2 million in Pakistan. At this month’s conclave, there were four cardinal electors from India and one from Pakistan.
India’s Cardinal Oswald Gracias and Pakistan’s Cardinal Joseph Coutts were reportedly seen leaving St. Peter’s Basilica May 7, following the Mass for the election of the Roman Pontiff.
“The image vividly expressed the desire for peace and the existing relationship of the community,” the Fides news agency said.
In his first Regina Caeli address May 11, Pope Leo XIV welcomed “with satisfaction the announcement of the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.”
The first U.S.-born pope, elected May 8, said he hoped that “through the upcoming negotiations, a lasting accord may be reached soon.”
It seems to me that there should be more recognition in the press generally, and especially in the Catholic press, of Sushil Nathaniel’ status as an heroic martyr. He was ordered (not asked) to affirm a different religion than Christianity and gave his life rather than comply. He was also, according to all reports, a good family man and a charitable neighbor. Hopefully his prayers from the higher realm will help put an end to religious hatred and violence.