The uncovered violence in Iraq

Finally, the New York Times gives notice to the kidnapping of the Archbishop of Mosul…now that he’s been murdered.

The news hit the Catholic world with a shock wave.

The Chaldean archbishop of Mosul is dead. Archbishop Faraj Rahho was kidnapped last February 29 after the Stations of the Cross.  His kidnappers gave word of his death, indicating to the mediators where they could recover the body of the 67-year-old prelate. “It is a heavy Cross for our Church, ahead of Easter”, Bishop Rabban of Arbil tells AsiaNews in response to the news.

Pope Benedict XVI gets secular media attention for some of the things he says. Not this.

Three times in recent days, the pope had launched an appeal for the liberation of the bishop.  Numerous Muslim leaders had also spoken out for the prelate’s release, both Sunnis and Shiites, in Iraq, Lebanon, and Jordan, and also condemned the action as “contrary to Islam”.

Today, Vatican Information Service issued a press release about the “pain of the pope” over this murder and the telegram he sent to the Chaldean patriarch.

In his telegram the Pope expresses his closeness “to the Chaldean Church and to the entire Christian community”, reaffirming his “condemnation for an act of inhuman violence which offends the dignity of human beings and seriously damages the cause of the fraternal coexistence of the beloved Iraqi people”.

Benedict XVI gives assurances of his prayers for the archbishop “who was kidnapped just after he had completed the Way of the Cross” and invokes the Lord’s mercy “that this tragic event may serve to build a future of peace in the martyred land of Iraq”.

This is the latest in the ongoing violence against Christians in that land.

Archbishop Rahho and the three men who were with him at the moment of the ambush join the long list of Christians killed in Iraq.  Mosul confirms its place as the most dangerous city for the Christian community, the presence of which has dropped by two thirds since 2003.  This diocese has paid a heavy tribute in blood.  In 2007 alone, at least 13 Christians are believed to have been killed – including Fr Ragheed Gani, slaughtered on June 3 – as well as two priests and a kidnapped bishop.  There have been many attacks on Christian targets.  The latest wave of violence came from January 6-17, 2008, when a series of explosions struck the Chaldean Church of Mary Immaculate, the Chaldean Church of St Paul, which was almost destroyed, the entryway to the orphanage run by the Chaldean sisters in al Nour, a Nestorian church, and the convent of the Dominican sisters of Mosul Jadida.

Msgr. Sharbel Maroun, the US based president of Tele Lumiere, forwarded this note to me today, the one he sent out to the wider community.

Beloved in Christ,

I just heard the very sad news of the martyrdom of Bishop Paul Rahho…As the Board of Telelumiere, USA, We join all the Christians of the world, especially the Eastern Rites and offer our deepest sympathy to the Chaldean Church.

We ask the Lord God to grant him eternal rest and we pray that his martyrdom will bring life to the Church of Iraq and the Middle East as Christians endure harsh persecutions for the sake of Christ. Please, keep them in your prayers.

Archbishop Rahho will be buried near Fr. Ragheed, but the story of their lives and their community continue to bring just about the only hope still alive for Christians in that region, through the untiring work of Msgr. Sharbel Maroun and Tele Lumiere.

Msgr. Maroun is president of the board of directors of Tele Lumiere International and says the station’s mission is vital for nourishing the faith life of Christians and spreading a message that is sorely needed in the Middle East today.

“It’s amazing how many phone calls [during the telethon] will come from Muslims in the Arab world as well as from Muslims who live in Minnesota and California and other places,” said the Lebanese-born Maronite priest. “They are saying this is what we need to be hearing in the Middle East. This is a message of hope and love and peace.”

If you want to help spread that hope and the message of peace where there is little to none…..Msgr. Maroun would love to hear from you. The information is in the above link. And here.