Pakistan’s new bishop prioritizes poor’s education

Father Yousaf Sohan has been appointed to the most deprived region in south Punjab

Father Yousaf Sohan, who has been named the new bishop of Multan in southern Punjab, says he will prioritize the education of Catholics in his diocese, the most deprived region in the province.

Pope Francis on Dec. 9 named the parish priest of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer as the bishop of Multan.

His ordination and installation will be held before Lent next year, the 64-year-old said in a phone interview.

“My motto is evangelism, education and affection. Most of our youth are still uneducated. We need more schools. Other priorities include developing schemes for poor homeless families,” he told UCA News.

Multan diocese has 80,000 Catholics, but at least half of them are engaged in menial sanitation works, cleaning public roads, and homes, and collecting waste from homes. Most of their children drop out of school because of the social discrimination they face, reports say.

Bishop-elect Sohan said he plans to revive at least three Church-run hostels that have been closed for a decade.

“It will greatly help the students from scattered communities in rural regions. Sadly, only a few English medium schools have a good standard. Others are still suffering since 2004 when the government returned the dilapidated buildings,” he said.

Only 35 percent of Christians in Pakistan are literate, according to the Pakistan Partnership Initiative, a Christian organization based in Islamabad.

The government returned 59 educational institutions to Christians 19 years ago after Pakistan nationalized all its private schools in 1972. Christians blame the nationalization for low literacy levels among the Christians and for weakening church institutions.

Asher Javed, chief executive of the Catholic Board of Education says budget constraints also challenge the schools.

“Seven schools are surviving with diocesan funding alone. We are trying to improve the situation of schools in rural parishes but it’s slow growth. Hopefully, the new bishop will carry this momentum and make them self-sustainable,” he said. 

The diocesan board manages 27 schools, offering education to thousands including some 8,000 Christian students in southern Punjab.

According to a report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), some 50 percent of people in the southern villages of Punjab live with an income of some US$8 daily, which is half of the average per capita income of Pakistan.

“Thirty-one percent of the population in the south is living below the national poverty line whereas this percentage is lower in the center and north Punjab,” says the report published this February.

The Catholics in the diocese, mostly descendants of lower caste Hindus converted during the British colonial period, live scattered in 15 parishes served by 16 diocesan and 14 religious priests.

The bishop-elect, who became a priest of Multan in 1985, has some 35 years of extensive pastoral experience in the region.

Following his initial five years of work as assistant pastor and pastor in the region, he moved to Rome to study biblical theology at the Pontifical Urban University, Rome (1991-92).

After returning to Pakistan in 1992, he served in several parishes and became parish priest of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Redeemer in Multan. At the time of his appointment as bishop, he was parish priest of the Cathedral and teacher at Multan’s Saint Joseph’s Minor Seminary.

Oblate Father Ataa Sultan, who served as the parish priest of Derekabad in the Thal Desert for four years till 2021, congratulated Multan’s Catholic community. 

“This is a special Christmas gift from the Holy Father, especially for the 700 Catholic desert dwellers in Thal, who can’t afford formal schooling. Most of them are farmers and laborers,” he said.

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