This morning I read a story by Italian journalist Sandro Magister, writing on April 5 in the Italian newspaper Chiesa about the Vatican’s response to the case of Pakistani Catholic Asia Bibi. Magister (translated by an American, Matthew Sherry) seems to imply, in paragraphs dripping with contempt, that Pope Francis could exert his influence to save her-but that he chooses to do nothing. “In the Vatican, Her Case is Taboo” reads the headline.

Magister uses the visit of Asia Bibi’s husband and young daughter to Rome to exemplify what he considers a callous disregard on the part of Pope Francis. Magister writes:

In the fleeting encounter along the barriers [at the Wednesday General Audience], the pope brushes past the two, accompanied by the children’s tutor. He does not listen to them, he does not speak, he does not bless them. The girl looks at him with amazement at such coldness. Everything takes place as if the name of Asia Bibi means nothing to Francis….

In a photo posted with Magister’s article, Bibi’s husband and daughter are pictured near Pope Francis, with Ignacio Arsuaga, founder of the humanitarian association HazteOir.org, at their side. Arsuaga, according to the article,

“…tried uselessly to tell the pope, in Spanish, who the man and his daughter were, not even succeeding in handing him the dossier he wanted to give him.”

But wait: Check the photo I’ve included here, taken from a different angle. In this photo, the Holy Father is holding the hand of Bibi’s daughter.

So my question: Do you believe that Pope Francis, advocate for the under-served and for those most in need, cares nothing about this Pakistani mother who has so courageously refused to recant her faith in captivity?

Bibi, you will recall, has been convicted of blasphemy for her Catholic faith, and sentenced to die by hanging. The wife and mother of five children has been imprisoned for seven years, despite worldwide pressure including a 2010 appeal by Pope Benedict XVI to release her. But in Pakistan, sentiment remains high against her.

But what impact might a papal statement have, in a nation which deplores what the Church teaches?

Would the Pope’s intrusion be welcomed?

Pakistan’s Christian minorities minister Shahbaz Bhatti and Pakistani politician Salmaan Taseer were both killed for advocating on her behalf.

In 2006, when Pope Benedict merely quoted a 14th century text criticizing Islam, there followed a rash of killings: an Italian nun and her bodyguard were murdered in Mogadishu. Effigies of Pope Benedict were burned in Iraq, and several churches were bombed. Christians were stabbed and killed in Baghdad, resulting in a call by Christian leaders for parishioners not to leave their homes. In Mosul, an Islamic extremist group kidnapped and decapitated a priest, Ameer Iskander.

During the Nazi persecution of the Jews during World War II, Pope Pius XII spoke out firmly against anti-semitism (although some reports denied that verifiable claim). At the time, any defiance of the Nazi regime meant immediate and severe retaliation. Jean Bernard, Bishop of Luxembourg, who was detained at Dachau, later wrote, “The detained priests trembled every time news reached us of some protest by a religious authority, but particularly by the Vatican. We all had the impression that our warders made us atone heavily for the fury these protests evoked.”

And in 1942, Cardinal Sapieha, Archbishop of Krakow, wrote to Pius XII, “We must deplore that we cannot communicate Your Holiness’ letter to the faithful, for that would provide a pretext for fresh persecution. We already have many who are victims because they were suspected of being in secret communication with the Apostolic See.” Pius XII was burdened with speaking the truth while safeguarding the survival of the Church.

Surely the same is true for Pope Francis today. He cares deeply for those who are victims of hate-as evidenced by his frequent statements on behalf of migrant peoples. He would speak forcefully regarding Asia Bibi, if doing so did not endanger her, her family and others.

Sandro Magister has once again shown that his ability to analyze has been hampered by his animosity toward the current pope. A journalist who has his mind made up before he writes is not to be taken seriously.

Image: By HazteOir.org [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons