Despite reports claiming that Pope Francis will visit Pakistan this year, the Vatican says 'no travel programme' is at hand and currently being studied slamming the rumors.
Reports have been claimed on Pakistan's news agencies that the pontiff will visit the country.
The ministers of the country including Kamram Michael, a Catholic and Sardar Muhammad Yousaf, the minister for religious affairs have visited the Pope last Wednesday in the Holy City to extend the invite. This has been claimed in the APP or Associated Press of Pakistan news agency.
However, Fr. Federico Lormbardi, the Vatican spokesman told the National Catholic Register that there is "no travel programme to Pakistan that is currently being studied".
The Vatican authorities stated that the Pope was very thankful for the invitation extended to him but he has neither accepted nor declined it.
In an interview, Bishop Rufin Anthony of Islamabad-Rawalpindi stated that the possibility of Pope Francis coming to Pakistan was very encouraging.
"The minority Christians will be definitely encouraged.However, the security of the Holy Father will be the sole responsibility of the government," he said.
On the other hand, the director of the bishops' National Commission for Justice and Peace in Karachi archdiocese,Fr Saleh Diego said that the news was unexpected and that it has give them joy when they heard the Pope's supposed visit.
"The Pope might tie up his visit with his tour to India slated for 2017. However, this is a big risk for the government as things are different than they were when Pope John Paul II had visited Karachi in 1981," he said.
To recall, it was only St Pope John Paul II who is a pope that has visited the Pakistan who celebrated mass at the National Stadium in Karachi. It was then during that time when a small bomb exploded just minutes before the previous pontiff's arrival.
