MUMBAI, India – An archbishop in Pakistan is on “sabbatical” amid rumors of sexual and economic irregularities in the Muslim Central Asian country.
Archbishop Sebastian Shaw of Lahore has been replaced by apostolic administrator Archbishop Benny Mario Travas of the Archdiocese of Karachi.
Shaw was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Lahore in 2009, and in 2013 he was named Lahore’s archbishop.
Pakistan has a population of over 241 million people, and over 96 percent of them are Muslim. Christians make up just 1.4 percent of the population, about half of whom are Catholic.
Lahore is the capital of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province. Around 80 per cent of the Christians in the country live in Punjab.
The official announcement comes a month after the Christian-run YouTube channel “National News Nam” reported Shaw’s imminent suspension.
“Many priests from Lahore have sent letters and emails to the Pope pointing out Bishop Shaw’s corruption and dishonesty,” the channel reported on 13 July, according to UCANews.
“His nephew was involved in corruption in the education board. Many priests of Lahore sent letters and emails to the pope referring to the corruption and dishonesty of Bishop Shaw,” the channel reported on July 13.
Francis Sodagar, the director of National News Nam, told UCANews the reports of Shaw’s misconduct were based on “leaked information.”
In August 2022, a Catholic priest suspended by Shaw accused him of homosexuality in a video message posted on social media.
Lahore’s Vicar General Father Asif Sardar announced the appointment of the apostolic administrator on Aug. 15.
“We pray for our archbishop… God grant him good health; always guide him. He is going on a sabbatical,” he said at the time.
Travas celebrated his inaugural Holy Mass as the Apostolic Administrator on Aug. 18.
Shaw has been requesting the Vatican “to delay announcements for months. The Archdiocese tried to avoid shaming and acted business as usual with regular ordinations and pastoral visits by their archbishop.”
“This is the first of its kind in the Church of Pakistan. The officials do not know how to respond to the situation,” an official from Lahore Archdiocese told UCANews.
Aftab Alexander Mughal, the editor of Minority Concern Pakistan and a former Executive Secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of Pakistan, told Crux the scandal is harmful for the nation’s small Christian community.
“It is unfortunate that there are moral allegations against a church leader. In an Islamic society, it is not good for the church’s moral position. Despite this sad current incident, church will keep serving the people of faith and also keep raising voice for the rights of Pakistani Christians,” he said.
