Bonnie Mendes

Bonnie Mendes is a Catholic priest of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Faisalabad in Pakistan.^[1] He was ordained in 1962. He has a doctorate in social sciences from the Philippines.^[2]

The National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP) was founded in 1985. Mendes served as the Executive Secretary till 1995.^[3]

In 2002, he was elected head of a newly formed peace network that aimed to mend India-Pakistan relations. The Punjab Peace Network, comprises 4,000 organizations of the Punjab province.^[4]

In 2005 he was also National Chaplain of the Christian Teachers' Body of Pakistan.^[5]

He is also Co-editor, along with Shaheen Mathew and Inayat Bernard, of AMAL (Action) published by the Youth Association for Leadership and Development.^[6]

Mendes was once parish priest of the Sacred Heart Parish, Jhang. Later he became parish priest of the Immaculate Conception Parish, Toba Tek Singh.

In 2009 he was based in Bangkok working as the 7th Regional Coordinator of Caritas for Asia.^[7] He also served as pastor to Pakistani Catholic families seeking asylum in Thailand after fleeing religious persecution. He retired from his position in Caritas in September 2011.^[8]

On 7 January 2012, Mendes celebrated 50 years of priesthood in the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul with a thousand guests.^[9]

Recognition

In 2005, Mendes was chosen for an ACHA Star award. The Association for Communal Harmony in Asia is based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Its annual awards program began in 1995 to people in Asia who have been promoting peace and interreligious harmony. The jury cited Mendes, founder of the Human Development Centre in Toba Tek Singh, for his work in support of marginalized and unprivileged groups such as women, children, low-paid workers and religious minorities.^[10][11]

References