The Voice of the suffering in Asia

His journey to the priesthood began after praying fervently for his father’s recovery from cancer. He said, “I never thought of becoming a priest, but then my father got cancer. I prayed to God, and it changed my life.” After his father’s recovery, Deacon Kumar was drawn to the ministry.

Only a few months ago, in December 2023, a bomb killed four people attending Mass in the gymnasium of Mindanao State University in Marawi, and the same city was fully occupied by ISIS-linked militants in 2017, leading to a siege that lasted five months and resulted in the displacement of 1.1 million.

"I saw a ball of fire, and the roof began to fall. I covered my head with my arms and ran out of the church, where I found my father. I was in shock. My father asked me where my mother was, and I raced back into the church. I found her in the benches, injured and dying."

Bishop Rehmat said, “More than 300 people were arrested [following the attack], but it is unlikely that they will face justice. Slowly, they have started releasing them. Nobody has been charged.”

According to the United Christian Forum for Human Rights (UCF), an Indian ecumenical organization that tracks incidents of persecution against Christians of all denominations, at least 161 cases were reported in just the first three months of 2024.

Qazi Faez Isa, the Chief Justice of Pakistan and head of the Supreme Court, described the report as being “[worthy of] the dustbin.” According to the Court, the report lacked relevant information, like details of arrests, and investigation agencies were seemingly not determined to bring the perpetrators to justice.