John Joseph (15 November 1932 – 6 May 1998) was a Pakistani Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Faisalabad from 1984 until his death in 1998. He committed suicide to protest the cruel treatment of Christians in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Life

John Joseph was born in Khushpur,

. He received his religious education at the

Christ the King Seminary The Christ the King Seminary is a Roman Catholic seminary in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town, Karachi, Pakistan; located in adjacent to the Portiuncula Friary. In its early years most of the faculty were provided by the Franciscans. It has been described ...

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

and was ordained in

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

on 18 January 1960. After completing a doctorate he went on to serve on the faculty of the Christ the King Seminary. On 24 October 1980 he was appointed Auxiliary

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of Faisalabad and ordained a bishop on 9 January 1981. On 9 January 1984 he became Bishop of Faisalabad. He committed suicide by shooting himself on 6 May 1998, in protest at the execution of a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

man on trumped-up

blasphemy Blasphemy refers to an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of Reverence (emotion), reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred, or something considered Sanctity of life, inviolable. Some religions, especially Abrahamic o ...

charges by Muslims in Pakistan.

Bennett-Jones, Owen Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance British journalist and a relief presenter of ''Newshour'' on the BBC World Service. As a former BBC correspondent having been based in several countries, he also regularly reports from around the world. He hos ...

(2003). ''Pakistan: Eye of the Storm''. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press. p. 19. .

After death

Three new publications on Joseph have been published since the bishop's death. "A Peaceful Struggle" is a compilation of the bishop's writings on matters related to justice and peace. The 197-page book was compiled by the Faisalabad diocesan human rights office, led by Father Khalid Rashid Asi. A translation of the English-language book into

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

has also been published. The third book, "Sermons in Blood", is a 110-page book written by labor activist Gulzar Wafa Chaudhry. Chaudhry attempts to keep alive the revolutionary spirit Joseph tried to initiate in protest at the situation of

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and other religious minority communities in Pakistan. A film showing Joseph's struggles for minority rights was screened at the South Asian film festival in

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

October 4–7, 2001. The 45-minute documentary "A Sun Sets in" was produced by Waseem Anthony and showed the life of the late Bishop, the first Punjabi bishop, and his struggle for

Pakistani Catholics The Catholic Church in Pakistan is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope in Rome. In 2018, there were 1,333,450 Catholics in Pakistan, which represents less than 1% of the total population. There are ...

. The Bishop John Joseph Memorial Hall in Darulaloom Jamia Rehmania madrassa in Faisalabad, was inaugurated on March 31, 2007. Bishop

Joseph Coutts Joseph Coutts (born 21 July 1945) is a Pakistani prelate of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Karachi from 2012 to 2021. He served as Bishop of Faisalabad from 1998 to 2012. Pope Francis made Coutts a cardinal on 28 June 20 ...

was present during the opening. No other Islamic seminary in the country has a building named after a Catholic priest. On Joseph's advice, Aftab Alexander Mughal and Peter Jacob wrote a book, ''Section 295 C, Pakistan Penal Code – Study of the History, Effects and Cases under Blasphemy Laws in Pakistan'', which was published in 1995.

References

External links

Bishop John Joseph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, John 1932 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Pakistan People from Khushpur Suicides by firearm in Pakistan Protest-related deaths Blasphemy law in Pakistan 1998 suicides Roman Catholic bishops of Faisalabad