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Pray for Peace in Iraq
In praying for peace in Iraq, stay in touch with the Catholic news, rather than limit yourself to the biased perspective of the secular news media. The following news items will help you know what to pray for and the urgent need to pray, not just for an end to the war, but for the protection of both Christians and Muslims who are being persecuted, kidnapped, tortured, and killed because of their love for the true God, our mutual Father.
Iraq Churches Targeted in Series of Attacks
3 Killed; Blasts Hit Baghdad and Kirkuk
BAGHDAD, Iraq, JAN. 30, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Three people died Sunday and more than 20 were injured when bombers targeted six crowded churches in Iraq.
Terrified parishioners ran for their lives when the car bombers struck in coordinated attacks that took place as services got under way on Sunday evening in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk.
Among the dead in Kirkuk was 13-year-old Fadi Raad Elias, who was killed when the bombers struck the Virgin Mary Catholic Church.
In the capital, Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly missed the bombs by a matter of minutes after security checks delayed his arrival at St. Mary Catholic Church in the Al Bonook quarter of Baghdad.
More than a dozen people were injured in Baghdad when simultaneous explosions went off at four churches.
A further bomb exploded close to the Vatican Embassy in Al Wiya, Baghdad.
Both in Kirkuk, where two churches were hit, and also in Baghdad, the bombers targeted Christians of many denominations including Chaldeans, Syrian Orthodox, Latin rite and the Assyrian Church of the East.
Clerics' call?
According to sources referred to ZENIT by Aid to the Church in Need, it is believed that fundamentalist Muslim clerics called for the attacks after a series of cartoons in a Danish newspaper denigrated the prophet Mohammed. The images were subsequently broadcast on Islamic satellite channels.
Sunday's attacks were similar to the bombing of churches in Baghdad and Mosul in August 2004, which killed 15 people.
In statements on Vatican Radio, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, apostolic nuncio in Iraq, said: "At this moment it is difficult to theorize on these attacks, it is too early."
"It is clear that destabilization is one of the fundamental aspects of those desiring to leave the country in chaos," he added.
Condemning the attacks, Marie-Ange Siebrecht, who heads the Middle East department of Aid to the Church in Need, said: "We hear about crisis in Iraq so often and yet the world is totally unaware of the suffering of Christians in a country which has been their home for thousands of years."
Aid to the Church in Need reported that in Baghdad and also in the northern city of Mosul, dozens of Christian university students were physically attacked by Muslim undergraduates who shouted slogans against them, calling them nonbelievers and American agents.
In statements to AsiaNews, Patriarch Delly said: "We are afraid, but we find comfort in prayer."
U.S. Episcopate Signals Support to Iraq Patriarch
WASHINGTON, D.C., FEB. 6, 2006 (Zenit.org).- The president of the U.S. bishops' conference expressed concern at the recent targeting of Christian churches in Baghdad and Kirkuk and the bombing near the Vatican nunciature in Iraq.
"We are greatly saddened by the deaths and injuries of the innocent victims of these heinous acts" on Jan. 29, said Bishop William Skylstad in a letter to Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
"We wish to assure you of our solidarity with the Church in Iraq at this difficult time," the U.S. prelate said in the letter dated Feb. 2. "Our prayers are with the deceased, the survivors and their families."
"We condemn all of the violent attacks against innocent people in Iraq without regard to the religion or political identity of the victims," Bishop Skylstad stated. "It is particularly reprehensible when terrorists attack religious communities at times of worship or religious events."
Convent Robbed and Occupied in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq, JUNE 1, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The convent of the Chaldean Sisters of the Sacred Heart was robbed and occupied by terrorists, reported www.AsiaNews.it.
The two women religious living in the Angel Raphael convent told AsiaNews that a group of terrorists broke into the convent while they were away Thursday. Upon the women's return they found everything had been stolen and the convent taken over for military operations.
The convent is in the largely Christian Dora quarter of Baghdad, where an anti-Christian campaign of persecution continues.
AsiaNews cited anonymous sources who said that Shiite militants are behind the attack.
Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly of Baghdad joined the Council of Christian Churches of Iraq in denouncing the episode as an attack against "all Iraq and all Iraqis without exceptions, capable of undermining national unity and fomenting division and discord."
The attack on the convent came just before the start of the Chaldean Church's Synod, which opened its first session today at the monastery of al-Qosh, near Mosul. Security for the Christian community will be at the center of the meeting.
Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the apostolic nuncio to Iraq, is expected to arrive in Irbil on Saturday to attend the event.
Benedict XVI Mourns Clerics Slain in Iraq
Chaldean Patriarch Denounces "Shameful Crime"
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 4, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone sent a telegram of condolence in Benedict XVI's name, remembering the priest and three deacons murdered Sunday in Iraq.
The priest was killed in front of the Church of the Holy Spirit after saying Sunday Mass.
According to Reuters, police said that gunmen stopped the priest's car, dragged him and the deacons out and shot them. Iraqi sources said militants related to al-Qaida are responsible for the increasing persecution of Christians in Mosul.
The papal telegram was sent to Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul.
The telegram said: "The Holy Father was deeply saddened to learn of the senseless killing of Father Ragheed Aziz Ganni and subdeacons Basman Yousef Daoud, Ghasan Bidawid and Wadid Hanna, and he asks you kindly to convey to their families his heartfelt condolences."
It continued: "He willingly joins the Christian community in Mosul in commending their souls to the infinite mercy of God, our loving Father, and in giving thanks for their selfless witness to the Gospel.
"At the same time he prays that their costly sacrifice will inspire in the hearts of all men and women of good will a renewed resolve to reject the ways of hatred and violence, to conquer evil with good and to cooperate in hastening the dawn of reconciliation, justice and peace in Iraq."
The telegram concluded: "To the families and to all who mourn their dead in faith and in the hope which draws its certainty from the resurrection, His Holiness cordially imparts his apostolic blessing as a pledge of consolation and strength in the Lord."
Bitterness
Meanwhile, the Chaldean patriarch of Babylon, Emmanuel III Delly, published a declaration regarding the killings.
"With hearts full of bitterness the patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans, His Beatitude Mar Emmanuel III Delly, and all the Chaldean bishops raise a disdainful protest and denounce the martyrdom" of the four clerics, the declaration said.
It continued: "This is a shameful crime that any person of conscience rejects. Those who committed it did a horrendous thing against God and humanity, against their brothers who were faithful and peaceful citizens besides being men of religion who always offered their prayers and their supplications up to Almighty God that he would bring peace, security, and stability to all of Iraq."
The note said that the Chaldean bishops of Iraq, who are meeting in a synod in al Qosh, offered their condolences and prayers.
"The bishops ask everyone for unity and solidarity in these difficult moments, and on this sad occasion, they repeat what they have already declared before about the persecution of Iraqi Christians, their forced emigration, and their being pushed to deny their faith," the declaration concluded. "They ask the Iraqi leaders and the international organizations to intervene and take the necessary steps to put an end to these criminal acts."
Holy See Working for Release of Iraqi Priests
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 19, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Holy See is following closely the situation of two kidnapped priests from Iraq, missing since last Saturday.
Vatican Radio reported Thursday that Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, said: "We are doing everything possible, and the Pope has as well, launching an appeal for their liberation last Sunday in the Angelus.
"Moreover, we are awaiting information to see what can be done through the apostolic nuncio."
The nuncio is in Baghdad and in contact with Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly of Babylon of the Chaldeans.
Fathers Mazen Ishoa and Pius Afas were kidnapped by gunmen in the al-Thawra neighborhood.
Syrian-Catholic Archbishop Basilios Georges Casmoussa of Mosul told the missionary agency Misna that the new deadline set by the kidnappers for the payment of a $1 million ransom is Saturday.
Keeping Christianity alive in Iraq
By Frederik Pleitgen and Saad Abedine
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov19, 2007 (CNN) - "Peace for all believers," the congregation at the Sacred Heart church in Eastern Baghdad sings, as the Patriarch, Emmanuel III Delly, holds a heavy cross in his hands, his eyes closed.
Cardinal Emmanuel III says he is confident Christianity in Iraq will flourish again.
He seems focused on the hard work that lies ahead.
Pope Benedict XVI recently appointed the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church for Babylon, an ancient denomination with roots in the age of Jesus Christ, a cardinal.
Emmanuel III is the first Iraqi to be elevated to that status and will receive his ordination on November 24 in Rome.
That means somewhere down the line, Emmanuel III could become Pope.
But the task at hand now is more pressing. The Vatican has charged Emmanuel III with nothing less than keeping Christianity alive in war-torn Iraq, where thousands of Christians, most of them Chaldeans and Assyrians, have fled the country and hundreds have been killed.
Iraq's Christian Community is shrinking fast and the bloodletting becomes clear even at the Cardinal's service at the Sacred Heart Church.
The room is only half full with those who have braved the danger of an early morning Baghdad commute to pray for peace for their fellow Christians, for Iraq, and for the entire world.
Some of them were in tears as they sang songs of hope in this time of despair.
"In the last few years there was an increase in the number of the cases of kidnapping, robbery, theft, killing, car bombs and explosive devices, and that scared so many," the cardinal told reporters at an interview at the Chaldean Church's headquarters in western Baghdad.
The cardinal's residence is a simple bungalow structure and the visitors' room is almost bare -- a wall carpet depicting Jesus Christ on the cross is practically the only decoration.
"A gift from Iran," the Cardinal's assistant says with a smile as we wait for Emmanuel III to arrive.
The 80-year-old cardinal is only about 1.6 meters (5ft 3in) tall, and his body seems frail as he moves slowly across the room, but his eyes are wide-awake and penetrating as he gleams through his large gold-framed glasses.
Right from the start he makes it clear, this won't be an interview about Christian hardship in Iraq alone.
"In reality this is a question I don't like very much and I know journalists always ask me that question," he says, a little uneasy.
"What's happening to the Christian is happening to the Muslims as well."
Emmanuel III was born in 1927 in the tiny village Talkif near Mosul in Northern Iraq, where Christians have been practicing their religion for around 2,000 years and some still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus.
"The Christians are natives to this country," the Cardinal says. "Our civilization has been deeply rooted in this country for thousands of years."
In 1946, he went to Rome to study religion. The Italian capital lay in ruins and Delly recalls seeing the destruction caused by World War II, and the human suffering, first hand.
It was during his time in Italy that two of his life's guiding principles evolved: His distaste for war and his deep commitment to dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
Delly wrote his PhD thesis on the relationship between Catholicism and Islam, discussing, "the existence of God according to Abu Nasr Al-Farabi," a Muslim philosopher.
"We are brothers and we have been living together for 14 centuries, all of us need to work together to advance the Iraqi family," Cardinal Delly says, but he realizes things aren't that simple in today's Iraq.
"Even an earthworm, if touched, will cringe fearing it will get hurt," he says in a serious voice as he talks about the thousands of Christians who have fled their homes since Saddam Hussein's regime was toppled in 2003.
At least some of the violence in Iraq today is directed at the country's Christians. Churches have been bombed, priests kidnapped and killed.
Christianity in Iraq is in a fight for survival and Emmanuel III is trying to use his clout to make a difference.
He has lobbied Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki to do more to protect Christians and has held talks with influential Muslim leaders, like the powerful Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani.
"We will do all we can so they can live a good life and enjoy freedom and we hope they will return to the motherland, but if we want them to return, we must carry out giant steps starting now," the cardinal says, moving forward in his chair to emphasize his point.
The "giant steps" the cardinal talks about do not only involve better security for the country's Christians. "We must build factories, small factories, small projects in our villages," he says, emphasizing his belief that not just faith, but prosperity will lead the country out of its current crisis.
"We need to start with a few projects in our villages in the north and south so the youth will stay, and the youth will work so they can earn their living and only then will they come back to the country."
And Cardinal Emmanuel III says he is confident Christianity in Iraq will make a comeback and flourish again.
His message is a message of hope and reconciliation, which he preaches to those at the service at the Sacred Heart Church in Eastern Baghdad. Many of those singing along have little more than hope left in their lives.
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