Holy See–Pakistan relations are foreign relations between

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

(Vatican City). Both countries established

diplomatic relations Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

in 1961. The Holy See has a nunciature in Islamabad. Pakistan's embassy in Switzerland is accredited to the Holy See.

Bilateral visits

The Holy See's diplomatic contacts with Pakistan are through the Secretariat of State on the one hand and the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the others. Other entities with a special interest are, on the side of the Holy See, the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

, which oversees the internal organization of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

in Pakistan and, on the other hand, the Ministry for Minorities Affairs, which from the government's side overlooks the interests of Christians in Pakistan. On 1 October 2009,

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakist ...

, President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, met

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereig ...

at his residence in

Castelgandolfo Castel Gandolfo (, , ; la, Castrum Gandulphi), colloquially just Castello in the Castelli Romani dialects, is a town located southeast of Rome in the Lazio region of Italy. Occupying a height on the Alban Hills overlooking Lake Albano, Castel Gan ...

and then also met with

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (Latin: Secretarius Status Sanctitatis Suae, it, Segretario di Stato di Sua Santità), commonly known as the Cardinal Secretary of State, presides over the Holy See's Secretariat of State, which is the ...

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican diplomat. A cardinal, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine o ...

and Archbishop

Dominique Mamberti Dominique François Joseph Mamberti (born 7 March 1952) is the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal by Pope Francis in 2015. Early life and education Dominique Mamberti was born in Ma ...

, the Holy See's Secretary for Relations with States. Earlier contacts at a similar level included that between President Musharraf and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on 30 September 2004. In February 1981, Pope John Paul II met the President of Pakistan during his visit to that country. Minister for Minorities Affairs

Shahbaz Bhatti Clement Shahbaz Bhatti (9 September 19682 March 2011), popularly known as Shahbaz Bhatti, was a Pakistani politician who was elected as a member of the National Assembly from 2008. He was the first Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs from N ...

met Vatican Foreign Minister Archbishop Dominique Mamberti at the Apostolic Palace in September 2010 following the

2010 Pakistan floods The floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and, Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's tot ...

. The President of the

Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue The Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, previously named Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCID), is a dicastery of the Roman Curia, erected by Pope Paul VI on 19 May 1964 as the Secretariat for Non-Christians, and renamed by Pope ...

, Cardinal

Jean-Louis Tauran Jean-Louis Pierre Tauran (; 5 April 1943 – 5 July 2018) was a French cardinal of the Catholic Church. When he died, he had been the president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue since 2007 and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman ...

visited Pakistan in November 2010 and held meetings with Minister for Religious Minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, and the President of Pakistan

Controversy

Pope Benedict has called for the scrapping of Pakistan's controversial

blasphemy law A blasphemy law is a law prohibiting blasphemy, which is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence to a deity, or sacred objects, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. According to Pew Research Center, abou ...

. Thousands of protesters from various religious parties protested against the Pope's remarks and against any change to the blasphemy law. Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a leader of the religious party

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Pakistan (Fazl) also Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) or simply as Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Urdu: ; ; JUI-F) is a Deobandi Sunni political party in Pakistan. Established as the ''Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam'' in 1945, it is the result of ...

regarded Pope Benedict's statement as an "interference in Pakistan's internal matters." Whereas the then Pakistan Prime Minister,

Yousaf Raza Gillani Yusuf Raza Gilani ( Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on 26 April 2012. ...

, stated that the blasphemy law "is our law and we will work according to our law."

Militancy

According to Wikileaks cables, the Holy See viewed Pakistan as "an unreliable coalition player" and doubted the government's willingness and sincerity to effectively take part in counter-terrorism efforts soon after the 9/11 incident. The cables verified an increasingly strained relationship between the Vatican and Pakistan.

References

External links

Pakistan (nunciature)Pope only wants inter-faith harmony, Pakistani bishops say
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holy See-Pakistan relations

Bilateral relations of Pakistan

Bilateral visits

Controversy

Militancy

See also

References

External links