8/31/2015
The Rev. Canon Dr. Titus Presler has written an important reflection for The Daily Beast on the church-state struggles at Edwardes College in Peshawar, Pakistan and its relation to religious oppression in Pakistan. Titus is principal-in-exile of Edwardes College and past president of the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. He and his wife, the Rev. Jane Butterfield Presler, live in Shelburne. Jane is currently serving as interim rector at Trinity Church, Shelburne.
“I was beaten in Pakistan for my religion. I am far from alone.
A Christian couple, parents of three children with a fourth on the way, were accused of blasphemy by a mob and incinerated in a brick kiln at their worksite in Punjab last November. Suicide bombers blew themselves up at two churches in Lahore in March. Asia Bibi, a Christian laborer and mother of five, awaits a hearing on her death sentence after being accused of blasphemy in 2009. In Peshawar 127 worshipers were killed and 160 wounded by suicide bombers at All Saints’ Church in September 2013. ”