Iraqi Chaldean archbishop seized, and three aides killed

[Woodstock]

This is from two days ago. No significant news since then. Prayers continuing.

**IRAQ: RANSOM DEADLINE FOR ARCHBISHOP TODAY **
Clergyman’s captors raise demand to $2.5 million, add ‘impossible’ conditions.
**
ISTANBUL, March 6 **(Compass Direct News) – Kidnappers have set today as the ransom deadline for the release of an Iraqi Archbishop abducted last week, a church leader said.

The unidentified captors also added new conditions for the release of Archbishop Paulus Faraj Rahho, said Kirkuk Chaldean Archbishop Luis Sako. He declined to give further details in the interest of Rahho’s safety.

A church source close to the negotiations described the new conditions to Compass as “impossible to fulfill,” requiring Iraq’s Christians to carry out violent acts and actively support a particular political agenda. He said that the ransom sum had been raised to $2.5 million.

The extravagant nature of the kidnappers’ demands appears to indicate that their motives are political and religious, rather than only financial.

Sako said that church leaders negotiating with the kidnappers had yet to hear Archbishop Rahho’s voice on the telephone, creating doubt as to whether he is still alive. Kidnappers in Iraq have at times murdered Christian priests even after taking a ransom payment for their release.

A number of Muslim religious have publicly condemned the kidnapping over the past days, Archbishop Sako said. The condemnations have been carried on local TV channels and Iraqi newspapers.

 

[Woodstock]

Driver, Bodyguards Buried
The three Christians killed in Rahho’s abduction last week were buried last Saturday (March 1) in the village of Karamlis, 15 miles east of Mosul.

Driver Faris Gorgis Khoder and bodyguards Samir and Ramy left behind young wives and three children each, the oldest of whom are in their early teens, a priest close to the negotiations said.

“The church priests tried to help them with psychological [counseling],” the priest said. “But it’s not easy. What can we say to them?”

The cleric said that two of the families are now staying with relatives outside of Mosul, while the third family has returned to the city.

“The lone source of life by salary was from their husbands, the fathers who were killed,” the priest said. “So now maybe the parents or maybe the neighbors, they help them for a little bit, but not a long time because everybody is poor here.”

 

[RShackleford]

Here’s the latest from Catholic World News:

cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=57085

Mosul, Mar. 7, 2008 (CWNews.com) - A week after Archbishop Paulos Faraj Raho was kidnapped in Mosul, Iraqi Catholics are increasingly fearful for the prelate’s life.

The bishop’s kidnappers have repeated their ransom demands, the AsiaNews service reports. But they have not allowed Church officials to speak directly with the Chaldean Catholic archbishop.

The physical condition of Archbishop Raho remains unknown. Three companions-- his driver and two bodyguards-- were shot and killed by the gunmen who abducted the prelate after he left Mosul’s Holy Spirit cathedral on Friday, February 29, after leading the Stations of the Cross. Archbishop Raho suffers from a heart condition, for which he takes daily medication.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki has ordered an all-out effort to find the archbishop’s kidnappers. But to date the search by the Iraqi military has not produced results.

Church officials in Iraq have confirmed that the kidnappers submitted a ransom demand that, in addition to a large financial consideration, included political conditions that “complicate the case” of securing his release.

 

[BennyBoy89]

I’m keeping the Archbishop in my prayers, as well as his kidnappers, the nation of Iraq, and all persecuted believers.

Lord, be with them.



Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you! Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the Fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

[RShackleford]

cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=57151

Iraqi Church leaders appeal to the West

Kirkuk, Mar. 11, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Church leaders in Iraq are renewing their appeals on behalf of Archbishop Paulos Faraj Raho, 10 days after the Chaldean Catholic prelate was kidnapped in Mosul.

Concerns about the welfare of the missing archbishop are intensified because of his uncertain physical health, the AsiaNews service reports. (Archbishop Raho needs daily medication for a serious heart condition.) To complicate matters, the search for the kidnappers and their victim is hampered by the weak position of government forces in Mosul, a city dominated by insurgents and terrorists.

The kidnappers, who have sent ransom demands to Church officials in Iraq, have not allowed direct contact with their prisoner. Especially because three of his companions were killed by the gunmen who kidnapped the archbishop outside Mosul’s cathedral, there is not even a guarantee that Archbishop Raho remains alive.

Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk issued an appeal to the Western world to continue pressing for the release of Archbishop Raho. In his plea-- sent out through AsiaNews-- Archbishop Sako prayed that “once again silence will not shroud the pain for the Iraqi people.”

“The support of the world’s bishops, religious, and faithful will give us the impulse to continue to hope in peace and inter-religious coexistence,” Archbishop Sako said.

 

[rpp]

It is gratifying how the mainstream media have jumped on this story and are helping to keep it the public view. Especially in the USA.

A search of CNN, Fox News and MSNBC turned up precisely ZERO stories.

Prayers for the Bishop.

 

[po18guy]

It is gratifying how the mainstream media have jumped on this story and are helping to keep it the public view. Especially in the USA.

A search of CNN, Fox News and MSNBC turned up precisely ZERO stories.

Prayers for the Bishop.

Yeah, fair and balanced, huh? There are also two prayer threads dedicated to the Archbishop in Prayer Intentions.

Christ’s peace.

 

[Aramis]

Most Americans don’t want to hear that we’re losing some battles.
Most Americans don’t care about Catholics.
Many of the Americans who want to hear we’re losing some battles want to use it to justify pulling out.

CNN knows this. Therefore, since war is great for news, CNN has good reasons to not air stories such as this. None of them have a shred of journalistic integrity, but they are sound economic reasons.

Unless and until news isn’t about selling commercials, don’t expect decent coverage.

 

[RShackleford]

It appears that Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho has been found dead.

May God receive his soul.

cnn.com/WORLD/

AP: Chaldean Catholic archbishop kidnapped in Iraq last month has been found dead, Italian bishops’ conference news agency says.

iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/13/europe/EU-GEN-Italy-Iraq-Archbishop.php

Archbishop kidnapped in Iraq is found dead

The Associated PressPublished: March 13, 2008

ROME: A Chaldean Catholic archbishop kidnapped in Iraq last month has been found dead, the news agency of Italian bishops’ conference said Thursday.

The SIR news agency said Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was found dead near the Iraqi city of Mosul, from where he had been abducted Feb. 29.

“Monsignor Rahho is dead. We have found him lifeless near Mosul,” the agency quoted the auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, Monsignor Shlemon Warduni, as saying. “The kidnappers had buried him.”

Rahho was kidnapped soon after he left Mass in Mosul. Three people who had been with him were killed by the kidnappers. Pope Benedict XVI immediately called for his release, and said the abduction was an “abominable” act.

The Chaldean church is an Eastern-rite denomination that recognizes the authority of the pope and is aligned with Rome.

 

[RShackleford]

Very sad news today.

Also from the Catholic News Service:

catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0801421.htm

Pope pained by news that kidnapped Iraqi archbishop was found dead

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Benedict XVI was “deeply pained” by the news that the body of a kidnapped Iraqi archbishop had been found in a grave.

Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul was kidnapped Feb. 29 in an attack that left his driver and two bodyguards dead. The pope had made several public appeals for his release.

Catholic leaders in Iraq said March 13 that they had recovered the archbishop’s body after the kidnappers told them where they had buried him.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said Pope Benedict was informed immediately.

“We all had continued to hope and pray for his liberation,” Father Lombardi said. “Unfortunately, the most absurd and unjustified violence continues to weigh on the Iraqi people and particularly on the small Christian community, to whom the pope and all of us are particularly close in prayer and in solidarity at this moment of great pain.”

MORE TO COME

 

[Ungcsertez]

Vichnaja pamjat’. Vichnaja pamjat’. Blazhennyj pokoj: vichnaja jemu pamjat’.

U-C

 

[bpbasilphx]

Mar Paulos was found dead today, according to the news.

Memory eternal.

New Hieromartyr Paulos, pray to God for us.

 

[Antonius_Lupus]

Mosul, Mar. 13, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Archbishop Bishop Paulos Faraj Raho of Mosul, the Iraqi prelate who was kidnapped by gunmen on February 29, is dead.

The kidnappers of the Chaldean Catholic archbishop, who had been demanding a heavy ransom, told Church officials that the archbishop was dead, AsiaNews reports. The kidnappers reportedly gave instructions on how Church officials could recover the archbishop’s body.

Archbishop Raho was seized outside the Holy Spirit cathedral in Mosul after conducting a Stations of the Cross service on Friday, February 29. His driver and two bodyguards were killed by the gunmen who abducted the archbishop.

In the days since the kidnapping, Church leaders had pleaded in vain for some clear evidence that Archbishop Raho was alive and well. The archbishop, who was 69, suffered from a serious heart condition and needed daily medication. It remains unclear whether Archbishop Raho died of that heart ailment or was killed by his abductors.

Informed of the prelate’s death, Pope Benedict XVI issued a statement condemning “an act of inhuman violence that offends the dignity of the human being.”

The identity of the kidnappers remains unknown. Although Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al Maliki had ordered an all-out effort to locate the archbishop and secure his release, troops were unsuccessful in their search around Mosul-- a city dominated by insurgents and terrorists.

While the kidnappers did ask for a large money ransom, they were evidently not motivated solely by the desire for financial gain. Church spokesmen said that their demands included political conditions-- an indication that the archbishop’s abduction was arranged by a terrorist group rather than simply a criminal gang.

May this servant of Allah, rest forever in Salaam al-Maseeh!!!

A Prayer for Fr. Paulos, of Blessed Memory:

Bism ir Abi wal ibni war rough il Qudos. Amin. +

God of the spirits and of all flesh, who have trampled death and annihilated the devil and given life to your world, may you yourself, O Lord, grant to the soul of your deceased servant Paulos rest in a place of light, a verdant place, a place of freshness, from where suffering, pain and cries are far removed. Do You, O good and compassionate God forgive every fault committed by him in word, work or thought because there is no man who lives and does not sin. You alone are without sin and your justice is justice throughout the ages and your word is truth. Since you, O Christ our God, are the resurrection, the life and the repose of your deceased servant Paulos, we give you glory together with your un-begotten Father and your most holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.

Bism ir Abi wal ibni war rough il Qudos. Amin. +

 

[SiempreFiel]

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/CLI/17431~Sacred-Heart-of-Jesus-Posters.jpg

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei. Requiescat in pace. Amen.

Sacred Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee, have mercy on us.

 

[Magicsilence]

Receive into your hands O Lord your Holy Martyr.

Prayers for his family and for his soul.

 

[rpp]

May God grant him peace.

Prayers for the Archbishop, a martyr for God.

 

[Antonius_Lupus]

Here is his picture:

catholicnewsagency.com/images/faraj290208.jpg

 

[Antonius_Lupus]

Here is his picture:

catholicnewsagency.com/images/faraj290208.jpg

Here is a video about the persecution of Christians in Iraq:

youtube.com/watch?v=K1rAGyeQbuI&NR=1

 

[Hesychios]

Vichnaja pamjat

 

[Hesychios]

Memory Eternal Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho

Martyr for Christ