By Baghdadhope Source: Baghdeda.com
By Majid Aziza
Matthew 10:28 "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell."
This passage of Matthew's Gospel marked the ceremony in New York of the Path to Peace Award 2009 awarded to Archbishop Faraj P. Raho, the Chaldean bishop of Mosul killed last year after being abducted in the same city. The phrase of Matthew accompanied the photo of Msgr. Raho, Father Ragheed Ganni, Father Paul Iskandar, Father Yousef Adel and the men who lost their lives during the attacks on the prelates, standing out behind Msgr. Ibrahim N. Ibrahim, the Chaldean bishop of the Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle in the United States, who on behalf of the patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Cardinal Mar Emmanuel III Delly, withdrawn the recognition for the bishop martyr of the faith.
It was Cardinal Celestino Migliore, president of the Path to Peace Foundation, Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations to deliver the award emphasizing how Msgr. Raho gave his lives for the peace in the world. Words confirmed by Msgr.Ibrahim who did not fail to recall the situation of Iraqi Christians and how the recognition to Archbishop Raho is a tribute to all the Christians who remained in Iraq and that the international community has the duty to support.