Faisalabad (AsiaNews) – The relationship between the Passion of Christ and the current situation of Christians in Pakistan was a centre of a seminar organised by teachers in Faisalabad in preparation of Easter. The goal of the event was to find ways to encourage young people to fight injustice and discrimination.

The seminar was held last March 13 in the aforementioned Pakistani city; its key moment was the screening of Mel Gibson's motion picture The Passion of the Christ.

The seminar began with prayers and songs. James Lal, the event's coordinator, then invited the participants to reflect upon the obstacles political and religious authorities of the time placed before Jesus.

He reminded his colleagues that Jesus preached in temples, synagogues, homes and on the street; that he was loved by the common people but hindered by those in power who saw him as a threat to social and religious stability.

"They misunderstood Jesus and his words. Their eyes and minds were closed and so they crucified him," Mr Lal said.

After Gibson's movie was screened a debate ensued The goal was to compare the ancient Palestine of Pontius Pilate and Judas Iscariot to present-day Pakistan in order to come up with activities teachers could use in helping students recognise and fight poverty and social injustice. Several topics informed the debate: poverty as a subject matter; supporting families to send their children to school, especially girls; spur young people grow physically, mentally ad morally through discussions about today's important issues and social problems.