Catholic World News, MA
Dec 9 2004
Iraqi Catholics vow to remain despite bombings
Vatican, Dec. 09 (AsiaNews) – In Mosul, in northern Iraq, a cleric
who witnessed the bombing of the residence of the Chaldean Catholic
bishop told the AsiaNews service that Christians will remain in Iraq
as “symbols of peace.”
In an interview with AsiaNews Father Ragheed Ganni reported that the
Chaldean Catholics of Mosul had celebrated the feast of the
Immaculate Conception “as we normally do” on the day after the
bombing. “People were really frightened, but we wanted to send a
signal of hope,” he said.
Father Ganni told AsiaNews that terrorists were targeting Catholic
churches in an effort to intimidate the country’s Christian minority.
But he vowed that Christians would remain, bearing witness to the
faith; he asked for the prayers of Christians in the West, noting
that Iraqi Christians today are “bearing a heavy cross.” [For the
full interview see the AsiaNews web site.] In Rome, Pope John Paul II
(bio – news) underlined his solidarity with the Christians of Iraq
during a midday public audience on December 8, condemning the latest
terrorist bombing of two Church buildings in Mosul.
As he celebrated the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Holy
Father told his audience that he was asking the Virgin Mary to
intercede for peace in Iraq. He made his comments after a pair of
bombings in the northern city of Mosul that destroyed the
Armenian-rite cathedral and the Chaldean-rite bishop’s residence.