Witch hunt in Pakistan

Vatican defends child with Down syndrome accused of burning Quran

This Catholic News Agency story relates that Cardinal Jean Louis Tauran, the head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, has voiced support for a Christian Pakistani girl with Down syndrome who was arrested for allegedly burning pages of the Quran.

Reports from some humanitarian organizations in the region said the girl unintentionally burned the pages because they were mixed in with a pile of trash she collected to make a fire for cooking. Neighbours allegedly burst into her home and accused her and her family of burning the Quran.

This is not the first time the Vatican has spoken out on such a case. The Holy See has also called for the release of Asia Bibi, a Catholic mother of five in Pakistan who remains imprisoned for allegedly violating the country's blasphemy laws. She has been given a death sentence despite her insistence that she is innocent.

For full story see The B.C. Catholic website.