Tajikistan: Catholic minority helps Muslim majority

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Oct 02, 2003

There are only two Catholic parishes in all of Tajikistan. The little country in central Asia is mostly Muslim, and Christians form a barely visible minority.

But in a show of genuine Christian charity, that tiny minority is providing aid to the large majority. The Catholics of Tajikistan, working through the Caritas relief agency, have supplied bathroom facilities for public schools in the town of Dusanbe. To see the story in pictures-- and to gain an understanding of the harsh poverty that is being relieved here-- by people are are poor themselves-- see the Caritas Tajikistan web site.

It's only a little story, about a country far away. But it's a reminder that the Church is universal, and that true Christians always have a powerful impact on society, even when they are few in number. The leaven in the dough.