Source: SIR“We have had no news for some time. We are worried”. On the day after the appeal by Benedict XVI for the liberation of all the kidnapped, and in particular, of the Catholic priests, the Chaldean patriarchate in Baghdad is more and more worried about the destiny of Father Hani Abdel Ahad, kidnapped in Baghdad on 6 June and not released, as yet. “We are doing anything possible to obtain his liberation – said to SIR the auxiliary bishop in Baghdad, Msgr. Shlemon Warduni, – but without success up to now”. There is preoccupation for the priest owing to the fact that the Iraqi Christians have been persecuted for some time. “If something of the kind happened to some Islamic population, the Muslim masses would have taken to the streets to protest and ask for respect, as happened for the satiric cartoons some time ago. On the other hand, the Christians are doing nothing, while here we are dying, we are being kidnapped, and forced to convert to Islam, or to pay to obtain protection. We are forced to yield our daughters to rascals to avoid retaliation, or to escape, abandoning our lifelong work. The United States and Europe are just silent about this question. When Father Ragheed Ganni was slaughtered, nobody was sympathetic with us. Just the Pope sent us a telegram of condolence and spoke up to let everyone know the tragedy of the Iraqi Christians”.
