Please help us gain attention for the events that occurred in Iraq

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iraqi

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Hello everybody. I know this is my first time posting here, but I am a devout Catholic and sympathize with the persecution around all denominations that occurs, especially in the Middle East. I usually lurk around these message boards (‘lurk’ as in read but not post) and I thought I would share this with you. In cities all over the world, there will be rallies being held to gain attention for the event that occurred at the Syrian Catholic Church.

Although accomplishing peace may not be possible with a rally, the more people that attend, the more powerful our message. These Catholics have been heavily ignored, at least in mainstream media. You would either have to be an Eastern Catholic, or know one to have heard what happened.

Please think about supporting this cause, with the several locations pursued for the rally, one is probably going to occur right near you.

If you don’t have Facebook, please message me if you want more information.

Thank you.

…

Please support our cause to gain attention to the massacres that occurred at the Catholic Church in Baghdad, Iraq. At least 52 people were killed during mass and the interior of the Church completely wrecked due to heartless militants.

Here is some more context…

BBC article: bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east…-11463544
Graphic pictures of the interior of the Church (scroll down halfway through the page): assyrianvoice.net/forum/index.php?topic=39796.70

There will be rallies going on all over the world to gain attention to what is happening to the Catholics in Iraq. Please take a moment to see our cause and possibly attend one near your city:

facebook.com/event.php?eid=162722953758823

Thank you and God Bless.
 
I haven’t heard of a rally being scheduled here in Corpus Christi, Tx. but I will pray as will my family and spread the word. May God Bless you and have mercy on our brothers and sisters.😦
 
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners
now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
 
Glory to Jesus Christ!
Welcome to CAF and the Eastern Catholicism section.
iraqi said:
Hello everybody. I know this is my first time posting here, but I am a devout Catholic and sympathize with the persecution around all denominations that occurs, especially in the Middle East.
There will be rallies going on all over the world to gain attention to what is happening to the Catholics in Iraq. Please take a moment to see our cause and possibly attend one near your city:

facebook.com/event.php?eid=162722953758823

Thank you and God Bless.
Click to expand...
Thank you for this Facebook information.

We have a thread going here in the EC section about the horrible tragedy. It’s quite possible folks have posted in another section of CAF, also.

It was reported that Fr Wasim Sabieh, Fr Thaier Saad Abdal and Fr Qatin all died. Fr Qatin was wounded during the raid and died later in hospital. Later on I saw only funeral information about two priests, Fr Wasim Sabieh, and Fr Thaier Saad Abdal. Have you seen anything more to confirm about Fr. Quatin? All the articles that say he died in hospital seem to have the same wording so seem to be a single source.

Iraqi Christian Relief and Aid to the Church in Need both provide important support to the Church in Iraq. Also hear Juliana Taimoorazy of the Iraqi Christian Relief to talk about Christians in Iraq numerous times on Light of the East Radio, most recently June 08 #298
 
No Vancouver? Maybe I should call our local Chaldean priest
 
There aren’t any rallies in our area (not even close) but our family has already been praying for those being persecuted in Iraq and will continue to do so.

I would like to nominate that all who cannot attend a protest take some time during the one nearest you to say a rosary. It’s the least we can do. Pray to protect those attending the rallies. Pray that they be heard. Pray that they be able to worship in peace, something so many of us take for granted in our faith.

:byzsoc:
 
iraqi said:
Hello everybody. I know this is my first time posting here, but I am a devout Catholic and sympathize with the persecution around all denominations that occurs, especially in the Middle East. I usually lurk around these message boards (‘lurk’ as in read but not post) and I thought I would share this with you. In cities all over the world, there will be rallies being held to gain attention for the event that occurred at the Syrian Catholic Church.

Although accomplishing peace may not be possible with a rally, the more people that attend, the more powerful our message. These Catholics have been heavily ignored, at least in mainstream media. You would either have to be an Eastern Catholic, or know one to have heard what happened.

Please think about supporting this cause, with the several locations pursued for the rally, one is probably going to occur right near you.

If you don’t have Facebook, please message me if you want more information.

Thank you.

…
**
Please support our cause to gain attention to the massacres that occurred at the Catholic Church in Baghdad, Iraq. At least 52 people were killed during mass and the interior of the Church completely wrecked due to heartless militants.**Here is some more context…

BBC article: bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east…-11463544
Graphic pictures of the interior of the Church (scroll down halfway through the page): assyrianvoice.net/forum/index.php?topic=39796.70

There will be rallies going on all over the world to gain attention to what is happening to the Catholics in Iraq. Please take a moment to see our cause and possibly attend one near your city:

facebook.com/event.php?eid=162722953758823

Thank you and God Bless.
Click to expand...
Forgive me but what exactly is your cause? What does gaining attention do? What are you trying to achieve?
 
thistle said:
Forgive me but what exactly is your cause? What does gaining attention do? What are you trying to achieve?
Click to expand...
For a long time there has been an ethnic cleansing of sorts in Iraq where Christians, most notably Chaldean Catholics, are attacked and killed. Last Sunday, a parish was attacked that killed three priests and many other innocent lay people.
 
ConstantineTG said:
For a long time there has been an ethnic cleansing of sorts in Iraq where Christians, most notably Chaldean Catholics, are attacked and killed. Last Sunday, a parish was attacked that killed three priests and many other innocent lay people.
Click to expand...
Okay but what does the OP hope to achieve? The world’s attention is already on that is it not. Hasn’t the Pope publicly spoken out on this issue?
What is the goal? Do we send in planes to bomb Iraq or what? I’m trying to understand the practicalities here. What can actually be achieved?
 
thistle said:
Okay but what does the OP hope to achieve? The world’s attention is already on that is it not. Hasn’t the Pope publicly spoken out on this issue?
What is the goal? Do we send in planes to bomb Iraq or what? I’m trying to understand the practicalities here. What can actually be achieved?
Click to expand...
In my opinion, at the very least, we can show the Iraqi Catholics (and other Christians) that they are not alone. We know what is happening and we are praying for them and support them.

Persecution is an ugly thing. If we do not stand up for those who are being attacked now, we may very soon be next.

The following was written by Martin Niemoeller. He was a Protestant pastor who spoke out against the Nazi regime and survived 7 years in multiple Concentration Camps. This is his most famous quote. He said it many times in many different places so it can vary. This version is taken from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.
 
HAnne said:
In my opinion, at the very least, we can show the Iraqi Catholics (and other Christians) that they are not alone. We know what is happening and we are praying for them and support them.

Persecution is an ugly thing. If we do not stand up for those who are being attacked now, we may very soon be next.

The following was written by Martin Niemoeller. He was a Protestant pastor who spoke out against the Nazi regime and survived 7 years in multiple Concentration Camps. This is his most famous quote. He said it many times in many different places so it can vary. This version is taken from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out –
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.
Click to expand...
The entire world’s attention is on the Iraqi Christians. Every newspaper and tv channel globally carried what is going on there. The Pope made public statements about it as did many world leaders. Everyone knows what is going on there. What I am trying to understand what else is achieveable attention-wise. If you are not advocating bombing the entire country (which I assume you are not) then what do you hope to achieve?

As for you other comment about we may be next to be attacked you are somewhat late. We are already being attacked everwhere by muslim extremists.
 
I hear you, if the war of Good and evil hasn’t come to a town near you, stay tuned because it will.

We need a constant global message about salvation through Christ to remain open. Theres nothing else we can do exept Pray and alert the world constantly, and they seem to care very little from their reactions. This war is accute now and we are in the last minutes of it. If we don’t wake up as a society we will be the next great civilization read about in the History Text books.

Its so bad now that we accept bad as normal. Murder, Rape, sexual immorality, drug and alcohol abuse, CRIME is so prevalant its not even a big deal anymore? We now accept this as daily activity. Abortion has become a common form of birth control. Mexico is at civil war with the drug cartels. The Department of Corrections in the US is now one the countrys biggest employers.

Catholics being Martyred in the last Century world wide reached an all time high. And will get even higher this century “if” there is a this century for man. The numbers are so high, we are still doing body counts from the last century.

The idea that lucifer doesn’t exist is now becoming a lost ideal. Now we know he exists. The few ignorant left we need to continue to Pray for and reach out to in hopes we may help them save their Souls. Because that is what all the fuss and chaos is about…YOUR SOUL!

We lost focus of God and need to quickly refocus before its to late. The list of abominations is now so long we can hardly keep up with score cards today. We are still sorting out facts from last century. Mexico, Spain, Germany, Russia, Romania, Asia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Africa etc etc. We don’t have the figures yet only the main characters are known today.

World awareness and Prayer is needed on a daily basis. Just visit the local city near you and take a GOOD LOOK at what happens minute by minute. Then let me know just how out of line my thinking is.

If by chance you live in some in some remote outskirt of civilization where the gravity of evil hasn’t reached you? Take my word for it, its coming.

God Bless, GT
 
thistle said:
The entire world’s attention is on the Iraqi Christians. Every newspaper and tv channel globally carried what is going on there. The Pope made public statements about it as did many world leaders. Everyone knows what is going on there.
What I am trying to understand what else is achieveable attention-wise. If you are not advocating bombing the entire country (which I assume you are not) then what do you hope to achieve?
Click to expand...
In the US at least, one is hard-pressed to get much information about the plight of native Christians in the Middle East, whether Iraq, Lebanon, Egypt, etc. And even when something is reported, it’s more of an after-thought than anything else, and there is rarely, if ever, an official remark made, much less a reaction.
thistle said:
As for you other comment about we may be next to be attacked you are somewhat late. We are already being attacked everwhere by muslim extremists.
Click to expand...
Thanks in large part to what was done in Iraq. 😦
 
thistle,

The situation with Christians in Iraq has got minimal attention. This is the problem.

This isn’t the first time a massacre has happened - yes, this one did get the attention it deserved because people from all over the world decided to get the word out and rally. We emailed congressman, senators, whomever we could. We gathered permits to federal buildings, and let the papers know we plan on a peaceful rally.

Did you know about the 66 other churches that were bombed since 2003, and the fatalities that occurred?
Did you know about the student bus bombings - two buses (might have been 3) full of Christians on their way to school, exploded because of radicals?

I know you have an assertion that the Christians in Iraq have always been oppressed and are in harm’s way because they are a minority, but when it hits home, you wouldn’t look for an easy answer.

Christians have been singled out in Iraq (majority of Christians in Iraq are Catholic) for many years, but the numbers have risen significantly since the war began. Every religion should protect human rights, not just their own. Where is the worlds conscience when it comes to this? Are these people to be ignored for being Christians in the Middle East?

You have to be optimistic about what can be achieved. You quickly asked ‘what can you do’, ‘what’s going to change’ and announced that all that there is to know about the situation in Iraq is already known.

It is not known. The world needs to see what’s going on. The only place in the world where you cannot live freely as a Christian, is the Middle East. (and maybe North Korea but that’s a different subject.)

There is power in numbers, thistle. The more that get involved, the more that will get done. H.Res. 944, S.Res.322 of the 111th U.S. Congress wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t gotten involved. Obviously this hasn’t solved our problems, but we are taking things one step at a time.

You hear about what happens in Gaza, Palestine by the Isreal Defense Forces. People are being pushed off of their land. People are being oppressed. People are being persecuted. This is old news with the Christians of the Middle East. Most Lebanese people are Christian, and Christianity isn’t even the largest religion INSIDE OF LEBANON. They are in the diaspora. The Coptic Church in Egypt is continually oppressed and tortured. Saudi Arabia is killing converts to Christianity. The Christians in Iraq. The list goes on and on.

I’m not worried about failing. I’m willing, with many others, to give my time in and out to support this cause. We know what direction it’s going in, we just don’t know how long it will take.

**Thank you everybody for the prayers. **

We have gotten great press coverage so far. We hope to get the message out.
 
Continuing prayers for Iraqi Catholics and Christians …

Praying with a Bible verse from today’s Liturgy of the Hours:

Afternoon reading (None) Baruch 4:21-22 ©
Take courage, my children, call on God: he will deliver you from tyranny, from the hands of your enemies; for I look to the Eternal for your rescue, and joy has come to me from the Holy One at the mercy soon to reach you from your saviour, the Eternal.

…:gopray:
 
Thanks to the OPfor posting this. I did know about this tragedy and I agree with the other posters here who said just knowing about it is not enough,we must raise awareness of this ethnic cleansing in the Middle East. Raymond Arroyo on his World Over program on EWTN devoted quite a bit of his time to the tragic event. I will join the Facebook cause and pray for the Iraqi Christians and all persecuted Christians in the Middle East.
 
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