By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ISLAMABAD (Worthy News) – A Catholic priest who was suspended over allegations that he raped a teenager in Pakistan has been detained after his “interim bail” was canceled, well-informed sources told Worthy News.
Naveed Thomas was reportedly taken into custody Saturday as police acted on a new criminal complaint, or First Information Report (FIR), accusing him of threatening to kill the Bishop of Faisalabad, Indris Rehmat.
“Thomas’ arrest marks a critical point in the ongoing legal battle,” said Farrukh H. Saif, the co-founder and director of the Emergency Committee to Save the Persecuted and Enslaved (ECSPE), which provides shelter to the allegedly raped woman and her family.
“The authorities finally acted against the suspended priest, who now faces charges not only of rape and blackmail but also of threatening the life of a senior church official,” he told Worthy News.
Saif said Saturday’s police raid came more than two weeks after “security guards at the Bishop’s residence filed an FIR on August 14” as “Naveed Thomas forcibly entered the premises with a gun, threatening the Bishop with dire consequences.”
Worthy News was not able to reach the priest for comment, but in earlier comments, he denied the rape and abuse allegations.
Yet a Christian father and his family were forced to hide after he accused Thomas of raping his teenage daughter and threatening to publish video footage of the abuse, Worthy News reported earlier this year.
CATHOLIC LABORER
Zulfaqar Masih, a Catholic laborer, had filed a police complaint against Thomas, a parish priest in Masih’s village of Talundi, which is part of Faisalabad, a major city in central Pakistan’s Punjab province.
Masih’s June 22 police complaint accuses the priest of repeatedly raping his 19-year-old daughter and arranging for an abortion when she became pregnant.
When the family confronted him, Thomas threatened to release the victim’s videos and kill her brother, according to the complaint seen by Worthy News.
The Faisalabad diocese suspended the priest in February after the family complained to the bishop about the apparent rape and threats before they went to the police, Catholic sources said.
Thomas eventually arranged “interim bail,” allowing him to await the next judicial procedures outside prison, raising concerns among Christians in Muslim-majority Pakistan.
However, following his alleged threats against the bishop and subsequent arrest, Saif now hopes that justice will prevail in a nation where many Christian women and girls reportedly face rape and forced marriages.
Worthy News knows the name of the reportedly abused woman but withheld these details, citing concerns about her safety and future in the strict Islamic nation. In general, Worthy News doesn’t name (alleged) victims of sexual abuse unless they choose to come forward.
CHURCH ELDER
Saif recalled that her troubles began on December 13, 2023, when Naveed and a church elder “went to Zulfiqar Bahadur’s house and took the woman” to the nearby St. Pius X parish in Chak Jhumra village.
The priest had offered to “arrange” her computer science education in the city, “where she would have better opportunities. The priest suggested that she stay with nuns of his St. Pius X parish, although the school was only 20 minutes from her house.”
However, after he enrolled her in the education academy, he took her to a room in the parish premises and raped her, according to Saif and the family in earlier comments to Worthy News.
“He threatened to kill her if she told anyone and recorded videos of the assault, threatening to release them online if she spoke out,” said Saif on behalf of the family.
“This abuse continued for a month and a half until she became pregnant. Father Naveed then arranged for an abortion with the assistance of a nurse.”
However, “It is deeply troubling that a priest, who is expected to adhere to Catholic teachings, would disregard the Church’s stance on abortion. According to Catholic doctrine, human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. Yet, this man not only dishonored the sanctity of the priesthood but also committed both sin and crime,” Saif added.
The woman eventually escaped from the catechist’s home after months of alleged abuse when the priest was away attending a marriage, Worthy News learned.
LENT SEASON
Faisalabad vicar general Father Abid Tanveer said that in February, Thomas was asked by the church to stay home to pray and reflect during the Lent season.
Thomas has denied all rape and abuse allegations in a video message. “I challenge all priests and faithful with whom I have worked to give witness before any forum that I can be an offender of raping at gunpoint… I will present myself, remove this holy vestment from the front of the altar at the cathedral, and return home. I have no right of holy service if they think so,” he said.
Said countered there was overwhelming evidence to the contrary. However, “it raises serious questions about the church’s handling of such grave allegations and protecting vulnerable individuals,” he stressed.
Said said the case underscored that the “Catholic Church must address these issues, where poor [minority] Christians, already deprived and discriminated against by the [Islamic] system, are often exploited by priests in Pakistan and elsewhere,” he stressed.
“In countries like Pakistan, where Christians often live in poverty and lack education, respect for priests is paramount. This family, too, respected their church priest, who frequently visited their home.”
Unlike smaller evangelical congregations and independent churches in rural areas, larger denominations such as the Catholic Church have maintained close relations with Islamic authorities, according to a Worthy News assessment.
Christians comprise less than 3.5 percent of Pakistan’s mainly Muslim population of 252 million people, with many devoted believers fleeing persecution due to their faith in Christ, Worthy News documented.
HOPE REMAINS
“As the legal process unfolds, the Christian community in Faisalabad—and indeed, across Pakistan—will watch closely, hoping for justice and restoring trust in their religious institutions,” Said said.
“Naveed Thomas’s arrest may bring hope to the victim and her family” and others in similar situations, he suggested.
However, the family faced pressure to withdraw charges, Saif said, prompting his group to help the family flee their home. “We are currently housing them securely, away from potential harm and intimidation,” Saif explained.
He added, “Our legal team is actively working to quash the pre-arrest bail of Naveed Thomas and his accomplices, ensuring that justice is served and those abusing their position within the Church are held accountable.”
The case also highlights broader concerns about sexual abuse and forced marriages in Pakistan.
In Pakistan, 28 percent of women aged 15-49 have experienced physical violence, and 6 percent have experienced sexual violence, according to data from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Some 34 percent “of ever-married women have experienced spousal physical, sexual, or emotional violence. Five percent of women have experienced spousal sexual violence,” UNFPA added.
Among them are many Christian women and girls who are forced into marriage and to “reconvert” to Islam, according to the ECSPE and other human rights investigators.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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