Vatican City: Pope Francis and Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi discussed the importance of protecting the Christian presence in the Middle East during a meeting at the Vatican on July 1. According to a Vatican press release, the roughly 30-minute private meeting included conversation about Pope Francis’ visit to IraqContinue Reading
Vatican, August 14, 2020: Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi has called on Christians to return home to Iraq after the defeat of the so-called Islamic State. The Assyrian International News Agency (AINA)also says the premier is serious about providing assistance to Christian families. He is quoted saying: “Iraq is aContinue Reading
The Vatican has given its permission for the opening of the sainthood cause of an Iraqi priest and three deacons who were murdered by armed gunmen in Mosul. The Congregation for Saints’ Causes gave the “nihil obstat” (“no objection”), permitting a diocesan bishop to open a local inquiry into aContinue Reading
Armsteram, Netherlands – A new report estimates that between 50 and 80 percent of Christians have fled the countries of Iraq and Syria since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. Released by Christian advocacy groups Open Doors, Served, and Middle East Concern, the report estimates that at leastContinue Reading
By Mónica Zorita of Aid to the Church in Need This year, Christian refugees in the northern part of Iraq are twice as excited to celebrate the birth of Christ. This is because the vast majority of the villages on the Nineveh plains, which had been under occupation by theContinue Reading
From the murder of Fr Hamel to Cardinal Sarah’s ad orientem appealContinue Reading
Mosul: Thousands of displaced Iraqi Christians celebrated a “Return Festival” as the military advance against Islamic State (IS) in and around the city of Mosul raised their hopes of returning home after two years in exile. The festival in Erbil last Friday (18 Nov.) was organised by Life Agape, withContinue Reading
Islamic State (IS) jihadists hung Karlus, a 29-year-old cook, from the ceiling of the jail he was held in, by a rope attached to his left foot. As blood poured from his foot, they beat and kicked him, rubbing salt into his wounds. He was sexually abused in prison byContinue Reading
Surrounded by charred walls and in front of a ruined altar, dozens of Iraqi Christians celebrated mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh on Sunday for the first time since it was recaptured from Islamic State. Church bells rang out in the town on the southeastern approachesContinue Reading
Qaraqosh : Iraqi army Humvees roar through the arid plains of Nineveh province, kicking up immense clouds of dust as they follow the dirt track that winds its way to the front. Among the rugged war machines is a white SUV, which seems in a particular hurry to reach itsContinue Reading