http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/catholicsiniraq/ en-us Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:29:51 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2459378/posts Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan. Credit: Sryo-Catholic Diocese of Mosul. Beirut, Lebanon, Feb 25, 2010 / 01:48 pm (CNA).- The Patriarch of the Syro-Catholic Church sent an urgent letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister on Wednesday pleading for government intervention to establish peace and security for Iraqi Christians, especially those in Mosul. The message is accompanied by news of peaceful protests from the area's Christians in the coming weeks.Translated portions of the text written by Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, based in Beirut, Lebanon, to Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri Al-Maliki were sent to CNA by a priest from... cna http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2459378/posts#comment Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:29:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2292350/posts Baghdad, Iraq, Jul 14, 2009 / 03:21 am (CNA).- More than 40 people were killed or injured in renewed attacks on Christians in Baghdad on Sunday.Shortly after 7:00 on Sunday evening, a car bomb exploded in front of the gates of St. Mary’s Chaldean Catholic Church in Baghdad. The explosion occurred just as churchgoers left Mass.Seven were killed and around 30 were injured, with 18 requiring hospital treatment, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reports.Bombs reportedly went off at three other Baghdad churches around 4:30 pm, two of which were St. George’s Church in the Al-Ghadier section and St.... cna http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2292350/posts#comment Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:47:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1700786/posts Baghdad (AsiaNews) – Fr Saad Hanna Sirop, the Chaldean Catholic priest freed Monday evening after 27 days in captivity, “was threatened and tortured”, another Iraqi priest, a fellow student, told AsiaNews. “He is really tired and exhausted. He was threatened and tortured. He’ll be able to talk about his painful and fearful experiences later.”Father Saad was preparing to leave for Rome when he was kidnapped. He was coming to receive his university diploma after he obtained his theology degree three years ago at the Pontifical Urbaniana University.“He is free and now is doing well. This is the only thing that... Asia News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1700786/posts#comment Wed, 13 Sep 2006 17:08:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2196178/posts Beirut, Lebanon -- Christians continue to flee Iraq because of religious persecution, even as some Iraqi church leaders are calling on their compatriots to return home. The church leaders fear that Iraq will become emptied of Christians if the mass exodus continues, leading some of them to issue calls to return that have angered refugees. "The Muslims of Daura are calling on Christians to come back," the Chaldean bishop of Baghdad, Monsignor Andraos Abouna, told Newsmax in an exclusive interview in Beirut this week. The Daura neighborhood of Baghdad has been the scene of mass persecution of Christians since the... AINA (Assyrian International News Agency) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2196178/posts#comment Sat, 28 Feb 2009 16:08:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2157744/posts Hear the voice of a Christian Martyr singing a hymn in Arabic to the Blessed Mother, while watching a slideshow of his funeral mass. Hear the angelic voice of Father Ragheed Ganni, a 35 year old Chaldean Catholic Priest killed on Sunday June 3rd, 2007 with three of his deacons right after celebrating mass at Holy Spirit Chaldean Catholic Church in Mosul, Iraq. The car of Father Ragheed and the three deacons was stopped by terrorists shortly after leaving the church. They were forced to get down from the car and asked to declare their conversion to Islam. When the... YouTube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2157744/posts#comment Fri, 2 Jan 2009 19:38:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2225295/posts Assyrian Voice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2225295/posts#comment Thu, 9 Apr 2009 01:38:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089203/posts The Plight of Christians in Iraq   By Jamie GlazovFrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, September 24, 2008 Frontpage Interview’s guest today is William J. Murray, the chairman of the Religious Freedom Coalition in Washington, DC. During the early 1980's, he served as director of Freedom's Friends, an organization which reached out to the victims of communism worldwide. In the 1990's, he founded the first commercial Bible publishing company in the Soviet Union. For many years his organizations operated evangelistic tours to the Soviet Union for Christians. From his office in Washington, D.C., Mr. Murray continues to work for the rights of Christians... Frontpagemagazine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2089203/posts#comment Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:17:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2107688/posts Thousands of Christians have fled Iraq's second-largest city after a dozen people were murdered in the worst week of violence against the faithful since the US-led invasion. Around 4,000 Christians have escaped Mosul in northern Iraq to neighbouring villages, creating a potential humanitarian nightmare as winter approaches. Many left without any possessions after receiving written threats, and militants blew up at least three Christian homes after chasing out the owners. The Iraqi government has sent 2,500 additional police to the city to protect churches. The refugees now face a bleak winter without any food or shelter in what aid workers... Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2107688/posts#comment Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:24:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134030/posts (AINA) -- A Christian bishop received a threatening letter written by Ansar al-Islam, a Kurdish Muslim group affiliated with al-Qaeda in Iraq. The letter ordered the Christians to leave Iraq en masse and stated it is sending a final warning to Christians in Baghdad and other Iraqi governorates to leave Iraq permanently. AINA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2134030/posts#comment Tue, 18 Nov 2008 08:08:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133084/posts ISTANBUL, November 14 (Compass Direct News) – In this Turkish city’s working-class neighborhood of Kurtulus, Arabic can be heard on the streets, signs are printed in the Arabic alphabet and Iraqis congregate in tea shops. In 99-percent Muslim Turkey, most of these Iraqis are not Muslims. And they are not in Turkey by choice. They are Christian refugees who fled their homeland to escape the murderous violence that increasingly has been directed at them. It is hard to tell how many of Mosul’s refugees from the recent wave of attacks have made their way to Istanbul, but finding these residents... Compass Direct News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2133084/posts#comment Sun, 16 Nov 2008 17:26:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2100579/posts CWN.org - Iraqi Christians are protesting the parliament's decision to stop seating minorities on the country's 18 provincial councils. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki sent a letter to lawmakers appealing to them to restore the quota system for all minorities. Hundreds of Christians protested in the streets following church services Sunday. Militants have targeted Christians since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. The violence has forced many Christians to flee the country. Keith Roderick of Christian Solidarity International told CBN News that parliament's action will probably cause more to leave. "It sends a clear message that really we don't want you here,"... CBN News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2100579/posts#comment Wed, 8 Oct 2008 17:10:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2121629/posts In Iraq, the persecution of Christians continues, as murders and a mass exodus contradict Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's promise of security for everyone. Churches are trying to help the refugees, and some may come to Germany -- if the government settles on a plan. The long trip from Mosul to Baghdad traverses a bombed highway along the Tigris River, through a wasteland in central Iraq left behind by five years of war. For Rami Kamil, 43, his wife and their children, the journey was an escape from the growing prospect of being murdered in Mosul. Last Tuesday, at 6 a.m.,... Spiegel Online international http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2121629/posts#comment Sat, 1 Nov 2008 13:40:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2155243/posts Iraq Christians face 'bleak future' Story Highlights: · Iraq's Christians face killings, intimidation; many have fled to other countries · Community has decreased from 1.4 million in 2003 to half that · One expert sees diversity decreasing, fears Muslim extremist majority in Iraq · Christians in Iraq face "horrible situation," says U.S. congresswoman By Joe Sterling CNN (CNN) -- It's a bittersweet Christmas season for Joseph Kassab, who grew up in Iraq under Saddam Hussein's Baathist regime and now lives in Detroit, Michigan. Tempering the season's joy is his concern for fellow Iraqi Christians, who have endured killings, displacement and... cnn http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2155243/posts#comment Sun, 28 Dec 2008 17:48:53 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2142623/posts Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk said in an interview with the L’Osservatore Romano this week that the situation in Iraq “is quite good and this means refugees could return to their homes. There are hundreds of empty and abandoned rooms and tents that await the return of Christians...” CatholicNewsAgency http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2142623/posts#comment Thu, 4 Dec 2008 08:08:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130853/posts MOSUL (Reuters) -- Gunmen have killed two Christian sisters and wounded their mother in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, which has seen thousands of Christians flee their homes because of violence in recent weeks, police said. Some 2,000 families, an estimated 12,000 people, fled Mosul after a campaign of threats and attacks against the Christian community last month, although many have since returned home, the United Nations refugee agency says. In the latest incident, gunmen killed one woman outside her home, then stormed the house, killing her sister and wounding their mother. RFE/RL http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2130853/posts#comment Wed, 12 Nov 2008 18:19:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079009/posts TEL ASQUF - With Kalashnikovs slung over their shoulders, Iraq's first Christian militia enforces one simple rule on the border of this little village. "Anyone not from Tel Asquf, is banned." This village in northern Iraq's flashpoint Nineveh province, frequently targeted by Sunni and Shiite fighters, has now taken security into its own hands with armed patrols and checkpoints at the village's four entrances. The village borders are marked with a sand barrier built by residents in a bid to stop car bombs breaching the perimeter as they did in 2007 when two such attacks within six months rocked the... Middle East Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2079009/posts#comment Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:41:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103594/posts BAGHDAD — Hundreds of terrified Christian families have fled Mosul to escape extremist attacks that have increased despite months of U.S. and Iraqi military operations to secure the northern Iraqi city, political and religious officials said Saturday. Some 3,000 Christians have fled the city over the past week alone in a "major displacement," said Duraid Mohammed Kashmoula, the governor of northern Iraq's Ninevah province. He said most have left for churches, monasteries and the homes of relatives in nearby Christian villages and towns. "The Christians were subjected to abduction attempts and paid ransom, but now they are subjected to a... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2103594/posts#comment Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:34:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2131218/posts Two Christian sisters were shot dead and their mother stabbed by a Muslim mob just one day after it was reported that Iraqi Christians were returning to their homes in Mosul after fleeing Muslim persecution about one month ago. Islam in Action http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2131218/posts#comment Thu, 13 Nov 2008 03:29:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2156310/posts Could the tide of violence against Christians in Iraq be turning? Hopeful news from Baghdad: Three years ago, a note appeared at Lita Kaseer's door. It contained a bullet and a one-word message: "Leave."Kaseer fled, along with hundreds of other Christian families in the Dora neighborhood in southwest Baghdad, once a vibrant Christian community.This year, she returned home from Syria, and on Thursday, attended Christmas Mass with her husband and 7-month-old son."It's always better to come home," said her husband, Khalid Kamil, 34. "In any other place, you are a stranger. . . . This is not the way our... Inside Catholic http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2156310/posts#comment Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:36:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997188/posts BAGHDAD - An Assyrian Orthodox priest was killed in a drive-by shooting Saturday in Baghdad, police and an assistant said, the latest attack against Iraq's Christian minority. The priest, Youssef Adel, was shot by gunmen who drove up in a car and opened fire as he was opening the gate of his house near the St. Peter and Paul church where he presided, an assistant said. Christians have frequently been caught up in the violence or been targeted in this predominantly Muslim country. The body of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho, one of Iraq's most senior Chaldean Catholic clerics, was found... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997188/posts#comment Sat, 5 Apr 2008 15:51:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985333/posts The body of a kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found in northern Iraq on Thursday, sparking outrage from Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki and other world leaders and expression of sadness from Pope Benedict XVI. “Yes, we found his body,” Iraqi Interior Ministry spokesman Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf told AFP, speaking of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho. A report from Rome had said that the body of Rahho was found in a shallow grave near Mosul after abductors telephoned the auxiliary archbishop of Baghdad, Shlemon Warduni. Rahho, 65, was kidnapped on February 29 after a shootout in which three of... The Pakistan Daily Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985333/posts#comment Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:00:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985327/posts The Chaldean community around the world stand numb and in disbelief as news of Archbishop Bishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul is dead. Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1985327/posts#comment Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:57:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1981286/posts With the growing outcry from heads of State and international leaders, why has there not been even one formal statement from the United States President or Administration? Why have none of the Presidential candidates even mentioned the Archbishop of Mosul? We cannot, we must not, remain silent any longer. Catholic Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1981286/posts#comment Thu, 6 Mar 2008 14:51:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980149/posts Madrid, Mar 3, 2008 / 02:29 pm (CNA).- The Mensajeros de la Paz (Messengers of Peace) foundation is reporting that the captors of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul are demanding $1.8 million in ransom money to free the Iraqi prelate who was kidnapped last Friday.In comments to Italian Bishops’ news service Servizio Informazione Religiosa (SIR), Bishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk said that, "The kidnappers have called more than once asking for ransom." The president and founder of Mensajeros de la Paz, Father Angel Garcia, expressed his hope that the captors would relent and “for humanitarian reasons release the Archbishop... CNA http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1980149/posts#comment Tue, 4 Mar 2008 14:13:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1978775/posts The assault against Catholics in Iraq has continued, and sadly, is escalating....We call on President Bush and the current American administration to do everything within their power to secure the release of Archbishop Rahho. Catholic online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1978775/posts#comment Sat, 1 Mar 2008 15:19:25 GMT