“I heard that some visas have been issued but this has not been confirmed to me directly. I hope it is true, although I believe that not everybody will be able to go”. Sir received confirmation from Mons. Jibrail Kassab, Chaldean bishop of the Eparchy for Oceania and New Zealand, that the Australian embassy in Amman might grant visas to a number of Iraqi youngsters for them to take part in WYD. “I am not able to tell how many visas might be issued (it is being rumoured that they should be around 35, editor’s note) but for sure not everybody will be able to go – the bishop stated – the priest who is taking care of this matter(Father Bashar Warda, editor’s note) is travelling to Amman right now”.
The possibility that things might turn out for the best is also confirmed by the auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, Mons. Shlemon Wardouni, who told Sir that: “there are some breakthroughs. Lay youngsters will probably go, but no seminarians. We hope to get the visas immediately. Sydney is very far away”. This concern is also shared by Father Rayan P. Atto, the second priest who should travel with the kids to Australia. He told Baghdadhope that: “the fact that the Australian embassy in Amman has appointed an official to deal with this case is quite reassuring, but we are worried about time. It takes at least three days to go to Amman to get the Visas, once we receive an official confirmation. That would leave us very little time to organize our trip to faraway Australia”.
