Hundreds of Iraqi Christians flee violence in Mosul; Pope voices alarm [CWN]

[CWN_News]

Hundreds of Christian families are leaving Mosul, Iraq each day to escape a concerted campaign of violence and intimidation. Syrian Catholic Archbishop Basil Casmoussa presided on February …

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[5Loaves]

Prayers for the Church that continues to suffer so terribly in Iraq.

Joan Lewis, EWTN Rome Bureau Chief

blogging 2/17 from Iraq You will be able to hear Archbishop Sako [of of Kirkuk, Iraq] tell his story and the frank story of the problems that Christians face, from both outside and inside their Church, in my interview with him on my weekend radio show, “Vatican Insider.” That will air this coming weekend, February 20 and 21, and the following one as well.

For that podcast on/after February 20 and 21 go to “Vatican Insider" Scroll down the page to Vatican Insider then click on her photo.

 

[GraceSofia]

Here is related story:

Facing Extinction: Christians in Iraq

Islamic extremists are pushing to eliminate ancient Christian communities in Islamic lands.
…
It is a persecution few dare name, because to do so means confronting powerful religious and political realities that have defied resolution for millennia and rising, popular anti-Christian sentiment worldwide. Christians are simply not seen as victims at all.
…
Christian students and men are kidnapped and never seen again. A 6-month-old baby was beheaded, roasted and then presented to his mother. A Syrian Orthodox priest was kidnapped, murdered and dismembered in Mosul, even though his parish submitted to ransom demands by a Muslim group for $40,000 and the public renunciation of Pope Benedict´s remarks in his address in Regensburg, Germany that caused rioting all over the Islamic world.

This is so distressing. How can we help these poor brothers and sisters?
I’m nowhere near there, but how about a big demonstration in DC? Is there anything being planned?
Why is there silence on this when Iraq is discussed?

 

[Bob_Crowley]

Here is related story:

Facing Extinction: Christians in Iraq

This is so distressing. How can we help these poor brothers and sisters?
I’m nowhere near there, but how about a big demonstration in DC? Is there anything being planned?
Why is there silence on this when Iraq is discussed?

Because we don’t say anything about ordinary Iraqi civlians, mostly Moslems, who have died as a result of the invasion of Iraq by Western, “Christian” forces. There were no WMD’s, and while Saddam Hussein was a mongrel, during his rule, Christians were largely left alone.

The civilian death toll from the war, due to direct violence and disease, is hard to pin down. It depends on the source, and that in turn seems to depend on political agendas, but it ranges anywhere from 100,000 to a million.

How sympathetic would you be to another religion, if another nation, seen as having that religious base, invaded your country, to get rid of one man, and killed hundreds of thousands of your fellow citizens, and still occupied your nation six years later?

I think God and the devil between them are stirring up enmity between Moslem and Christian as a judgment against the West.

 

[Holly3278]

How very very sad. Lord, have mercy.

 

[GraceSofia]

How sympathetic would you be to another religion, if another nation, seen as having that religious base, invaded your country, to get rid of one man, and killed hundreds of thousands of your fellow citizens, and still occupied your nation six years later?

I hope you are not implying that Muslims are justified in persecuting and murdering Iraqi Christians.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

I hope you are not implying that Muslims are justified in persecuting and murdering Iraqi Christians.

I am not implying that they’re justified, and I think persecution stinks, no matter who is doing it. But I’d also ask was the West justified in invading Iraq with a resultant death toll for Iraq of anywhere between 100,000 and a million? We hear a lot about allied casualties, often in some detail. We don’t hear much about the people caught in the middle.

In God’s eyes, they’re just as important.

 

[GraceSofia]

Pope Benedict calls for end to anti-Christian violence in Iraq

Iraqi priests studying and working in Rome turned out for the Angelus with flags and banners in hand. “Liberty, Equality, Peace” read one of their banners, black letters on a white background. “Iraqi Christians need an urgent International Intervention” read another.

Peaceful protests were held in Christian-populated cities across the Plain of Nineveh on Sunday. These cities and villages have received a number of refugees in recent days, fleeing the violence in Mosul.

Another protest has been organized for Monday by the Iraqi community of Paris.

Hurray for the Holy Father ! ! !
I hope this rouses the conscience of the international community enough to stop the religious cleansing of the Middle East.