Pope condemns attacks on churches in Iraq

Pope condemns attacks on churches in Iraq

Reuters
Dec 8 2004

VATICAN CITY, Dec 8 (Reuters) Pope John Paul today condemned the
bombing of two churches in Iraq, the latest in a series of attacks
against the Christian community.

“I ask the Lord for the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin, so that
dear Iraqi people can finally come to know a time of reconciliation
and peace,” the 84-year-old Pope told thousands of pilgrims packed
into St Peter’s Square.

Gunmen attacked two churches in the tense northern Iraqi city of
Mosul yesterday, in the latest violence directed against one of Iraq’s
several religious and ethnic groups.

Members of the churches, one Armenian, the other Chaldean, said gunmen
burst in, forced people to leave and set off explosions inside the
buildings. No one was hurt in the attacks.

Iraq’s 650,000 Christians — mostly Chaldeans, Assyrians and Catholics
— comprise about 3 percent of the population. Many have left Iraq
and the Vatican fears more will go if the attacks go on.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress