By Sir
Catholic delegation received by Prime Minister Al- Maliki
This morning, Iraq’s outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met with a Catholic delegation which included, among others, the Chaldean Patriarch Card. Emmanuel III Delly, the Syrian Catholic Archbishop Mati Shaba Mattoka, and the Chaldean Patriarchal Vicar of Baghdad Mgr. Shlemon Warduni. As Mgr. Warduni told SIR: “we met with the Prime Minister of Iraq to whom we clearly reiterated our problems even in the wake of the massacre perpetrated in the Syrian Catholic church last Sunday. The Prime Minister told us that he will do all in his power to protect the Christian community. He also said that he might visit the church attacked by the terrorists maybe the day after tomorrow. It is time to take concrete action – added the Chaldean Vicar of Baghdad – words are no longer enough”. According to Mgr. Warduni, Iraq’s Prime Minister, for his part, “called on Christians to make their contribution to protecting the churches with the support of the authorities and security forces. Al-maliki told us that our faithful should be part of the security forces and hold a position in the Internal Affairs Ministry, which actually implies that we play a major role in terms of security”. As for the decision to step up security around Christian worship places next Sunday, Mgr. Warduni said: “we will see what to do, we are only on Thursday…”.
Joint statement by Muslims and Christians "Sacred places defiled"
Christians and Muslims express their condemnation “of all acts of violence that target places of worship and other sacred places, defile them, or threaten the safety and security of worshippers”. They do it in a joint statement issued yesterday evening from the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, where about sixty Muslim and Christian representatives have been attending an international consultation (from 1st November) organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC). The meeting entitled “Transforming Communities: Christians and Muslims Building a Common Future” was attended by H.R.H. Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, personal envoy and special advisor to King Abdullah II of Jordan, Muhammed al-Sammak, Secretary-General of the National Council for Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Lebanon, and members of the World Islamic Call Society. Keynote Christian speakers at the consultation included Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, and Metropolitan Emmanuel, the President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). The consultation will come to a close this afternoon with a press conference.
Participants – reads the statement - were “shocked” by the terrorist attack on the Syrian Catholic church of “Our Lady of Hope” in Baghdad that killed 58 people and wounded many. They “condemn this inhumane act that contradicts all religious teachings, and Middle Eastern culture that enabled people to coexist peacefully for many centuries”. In the statement Christians and Muslims also condemn “any criminal act that goes against the right to live in dignity and freedom of worship and of religion” and implore the “United Nations and its Security Council and all groups that call for just peace, and especially Iraqi officials, to intervene to put an end to all terrorist attacks aimed at degrading Iraqi people, irrespective of their religious affiliation, and defiling Christian and Islamic sacred places”. In the declaration religious leaders also extend their “heart-felt condolences to the families of the victims in Iraq assuring them that we hold them in our prayers. We pray that the All-Mighty God assist the Iraqi Authorities and United Nations to seriously work to implement security, justice and peace to Iraq whose people deserve to enjoy living with religious and ethnic diversity”.
Catholic delegation received by Prime Minister Al- Maliki
This morning, Iraq’s outgoing Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki met with a Catholic delegation which included, among others, the Chaldean Patriarch Card. Emmanuel III Delly, the Syrian Catholic Archbishop Mati Shaba Mattoka, and the Chaldean Patriarchal Vicar of Baghdad Mgr. Shlemon Warduni. As Mgr. Warduni told SIR: “we met with the Prime Minister of Iraq to whom we clearly reiterated our problems even in the wake of the massacre perpetrated in the Syrian Catholic church last Sunday. The Prime Minister told us that he will do all in his power to protect the Christian community. He also said that he might visit the church attacked by the terrorists maybe the day after tomorrow. It is time to take concrete action – added the Chaldean Vicar of Baghdad – words are no longer enough”. According to Mgr. Warduni, Iraq’s Prime Minister, for his part, “called on Christians to make their contribution to protecting the churches with the support of the authorities and security forces. Al-maliki told us that our faithful should be part of the security forces and hold a position in the Internal Affairs Ministry, which actually implies that we play a major role in terms of security”. As for the decision to step up security around Christian worship places next Sunday, Mgr. Warduni said: “we will see what to do, we are only on Thursday…”.
Joint statement by Muslims and Christians "Sacred places defiled"
Christians and Muslims express their condemnation “of all acts of violence that target places of worship and other sacred places, defile them, or threaten the safety and security of worshippers”. They do it in a joint statement issued yesterday evening from the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, where about sixty Muslim and Christian representatives have been attending an international consultation (from 1st November) organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC). The meeting entitled “Transforming Communities: Christians and Muslims Building a Common Future” was attended by H.R.H. Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, personal envoy and special advisor to King Abdullah II of Jordan, Muhammed al-Sammak, Secretary-General of the National Council for Christian-Muslim Dialogue in Lebanon, and members of the World Islamic Call Society. Keynote Christian speakers at the consultation included Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, and Metropolitan Emmanuel, the President of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). The consultation will come to a close this afternoon with a press conference.
Participants – reads the statement - were “shocked” by the terrorist attack on the Syrian Catholic church of “Our Lady of Hope” in Baghdad that killed 58 people and wounded many. They “condemn this inhumane act that contradicts all religious teachings, and Middle Eastern culture that enabled people to coexist peacefully for many centuries”. In the statement Christians and Muslims also condemn “any criminal act that goes against the right to live in dignity and freedom of worship and of religion” and implore the “United Nations and its Security Council and all groups that call for just peace, and especially Iraqi officials, to intervene to put an end to all terrorist attacks aimed at degrading Iraqi people, irrespective of their religious affiliation, and defiling Christian and Islamic sacred places”. In the declaration religious leaders also extend their “heart-felt condolences to the families of the victims in Iraq assuring them that we hold them in our prayers. We pray that the All-Mighty God assist the Iraqi Authorities and United Nations to seriously work to implement security, justice and peace to Iraq whose people deserve to enjoy living with religious and ethnic diversity”.