Lahore: March 16, 2016. (Pervez Yousaf) In the light of the declaration of His Holiness Pope Francis to celebrate 2016 as the Year of Mercy; Council for Interfaith Dialogue Pakistan (CFID) organized a one day seminar on “Concept of Mercy Christianity and Islam ” here, in Lahore. This deliberate seminar was presided by Fr. Francis Nadeem OFM Cap coordinator of the CFID whereas Fr. Qaisar Feroz OFM Cap parish priest of St. Joseph’s Church Lahore Cantt. and renowned Islamic scholar Pir Shafaat Rasool head of Bilal Markaz Lahore and chairman of CFID were the subject matter speakers on this occasion. A special talk on the common values in Islam and Christianity was also a segment of the seminar during which Fr. Inayat Bernard, Director of CFID threw light on the perspective of Christianity and Dr. Badar Munir Majadadi shared his views about the Islamic point of view. Addressing the participants Fr. Qaisar Feroz referred different passages from Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible about the Mercy. He said that God is merciful and also commands us to be merciful. Fr. Qasiar quoted a statement of His Holiness Pope Francis that the world has become habitual of watching and listening the news of violence. He said that focusing and spreading such kinds of news ignite hatred and differences. There is a dire need of creating circumstances of peace, tolerance, forgiveness and mercy. Declaring 2016 the year of mercy by the Holy Father is of utmost significance for the entire world. Let us all come together and build the culture of Mercy, which is a common value in Islam and Christianity. In his address Pir Shafaat Rasool described the perspective of Islam about the mercy. He referred many verses from the Holy Quran in precise and inspiring manners. He said no one can impose or has right to convert forcibly the follower of other religions. The mercy is the only channel which attracts a human being to embrace a religion. He said that Islam and Christianity belong to one origin and there are number of values which are common in both of these religions therefore when we listen the verses from the Holy Bible we find similarities. Mercy is the key factor in both of the religions and listening to the call of Pope Francis we have to spread the mercy in our society. The Muslim speakers and participants of the seminar highly appreciated the gesture of Pope Francis to celebrate 2016 as the Year of Mercy and expressed it would foster the interreligious harmony and calm down the emotions of extremism from the hearts of the masses. They assured that we will continue to spread the message of Mercy throughout the year so that peace may prevail in our society. The seminar began with the prayer by Sr. Razia followed by recitation from Holy Quran by Hafiz Mufti Syed Ashiq Hussain. Welcoming the speakers, guests of honor and participants of the seminar Pervez Yousaf the secretary of CFID threw light on the objective of the seminar. He said the His Holiness Pope Francis declared 2016 as the Year of Mercy. He opened the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica, inaugurating the Jubilee of Mercy in Vatican on the 8th of December 2015. He not only did this as a symbolic gesture but also appealed to developed countries of the world to come forward and open their boundaries for the persecuted people and the people who are victims of hunger and poverty in different countries of the world. The participants unanimously passed a resolution asking print/electronic media personnel, religious, political leaders and educationists to play their role in order to foster the values of mercy, forgiveness and tolerance. The participants also appealed followers of all the religions to spread the message of peace and interfaith harmony so that prejudice, hatred and intolerance may come to an end in our society. Sunil John, an executive member of the council read out the contents of the resolution. The copies of the full text of His Holiness Pope Francis’s Year of Mercy letter were also distributed among the participants of the seminar. Fr. Francis Nadeem while thanking the guests and participants of the seminar said that what we have learned today through our respected speakers about the common values in Islam and Christianity we have to spread it in every corner of the country through Masajids (Mosques) and Churches considering it our religious, national and moral duty. Allama Asghar Arif Chishti, Pir S. A. Jafri, Haji Amar Rasheed Khan, Syed Waqar-ul-Husnain Naqvi, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Naqshbandi, Allama Zia-ul-Rehman Farooqi, and Allama Farooq Ahmed Saeedi along with teachers and students of schools, madrassas and seminaries were prominent among the participants of this deliberate seminar.