By BaghdadhopeBaghdad, October 22. In the Chaldean church of the Sacred Heart in Baghdad representatives and faithful of different Christian denominations gathered to pray for peace in Iraq and especially in Mosul. After the reading of some passages from the Bible, the Syriac Catholic bishop of Baghdad, Archbishop Matti Shaba Matoka addressed his thoughts and his prayers to what happened in Mosul on last month recalling the murders, the threats and the resulting flight of a huge part of the Christian population of the city, and expressed his hope that the families who now live where they found refuge may soon return to their homes and their lives. The prelate also appealed to all components of the country to work together for its good and its development. The day of fasting and prayer organized by the Chaldean Vicar Patriarch, Msgr. Shleimun Warduni, in addition to the many faithful who filled the church was attended by the Latin bishop of Baghdad, Msgr. Jean B. Sleiman, the Apostolic Nuncio in Iraq and Jordan, Msgr. Francis A. Chullikat, and the director of the governmental office for the affairs of non-Muslims, Mr. Abdallah Al Naufali.
What happened in Mosul was also discussed in a more institutional framework during the meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri Al Maliki, and a delegation of Christian religious leaders in Baghdad led by Msgr. Shleimun Warduni, this time accompanied by Msgr. Andraous Abouna, Chaldean Vicar Patriarch for the Affairs of the clergy, Msgr. Jean B. Sleiman and Archbishop Matti Shaba Matoka. According to a report by the Prime Minister office, Al-Maliki committed himself to discover and punish the perpetrators of violence against Christians in Mosul - an insult to the Iraqi people, as he defined it - and to give to the victims all the government support, directly engaging in the matter the Ministry that deals with migration and displaced persons. During the meeting the Prime Minister also reiterated his opposition to the abolition of Article 50 of the law approved by Parliament to rule the forthcoming provincial councils elections which would have ensured the political representation of minorities in six provinces of the country, and his commitment to its reinstatement. According to the note by the ministerial office the delegation of Christian leaders reiterated its firm opposition to the hypothesis of a Christian enclave in the province of Mosul linked to the Kurdish autonomous province saying that Christians want to continue to live with their brothers everywhere in Iraq, from north to Basra, and want to remain under the control of the central government as it has always been, and not to live in a cage.
A position that, if defended by the Catholic churches which represent the majority of Iraqi Christians, does not find much support in churches not related to Rome such as the Assyrian and the Syriac Orthodox, for example, that in recent days had voice in the words of Mor Gallo Shabo, Syriac Orthodox bishop in Scandinavia who, recalling the events of Mosul, prompted the creation of an "administrative unit" for non-Muslim minorities in the Nineveh Plain refuting the accusation that it would become a "Christian ghetto", as the idea had been defined by Msgr. Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, by affirming that people who belong to all Iraqis ethnic and religious groups live in the Plain and consequently it is impossible to speak of a Christian ghetto.
A position that, if defended by the Catholic churches which represent the majority of Iraqi Christians, does not find much support in churches not related to Rome such as the Assyrian and the Syriac Orthodox, for example, that in recent days had voice in the words of Mor Gallo Shabo, Syriac Orthodox bishop in Scandinavia who, recalling the events of Mosul, prompted the creation of an "administrative unit" for non-Muslim minorities in the Nineveh Plain refuting the accusation that it would become a "Christian ghetto", as the idea had been defined by Msgr. Louis Sako, Chaldean Archbishop of Kirkuk, by affirming that people who belong to all Iraqis ethnic and religious groups live in the Plain and consequently it is impossible to speak of a Christian ghetto.
