By SIR
“Someone would like to confine the Christians of Iraq into one single province. But it is an unacceptable proposal. Christians must stay all over, amidst the population of the country, because, as the Gospel teaches us, they must be the light of the world everywhere”.
Mgr. Shlemon Warduni, Chaldean Episcopal vicar of Baghdad, repeats some of his beliefs at the European Parliament: “We do not want to politicise our case. We want to stay in Iraq, in peace with everyone, amidst Iraqis, Kurds, Turkish …”. But, why have you come here, in Strasbourg, to tell about the problems of the Christians in the Middle East? “First and foremost, we simply wanted to find ears that would listen to us – Warduni explains to SIR – and I must admit that many people have come to us, to listen, to enquire, to speak to us, to understand what happens in our country. We have told them about human rights, the work we do not have, the problems of security and peace. Everyone patiently listened to us”.
What about now?
“Now, after the words, we will be waiting for facts, meaning that we rely on effective political measures” to support the future of Iraq. “The Europe of rights should move from words to facts. Not least, because it has not done much so far. But we are very confident”.
“Someone would like to confine the Christians of Iraq into one single province. But it is an unacceptable proposal. Christians must stay all over, amidst the population of the country, because, as the Gospel teaches us, they must be the light of the world everywhere”.
Mgr. Shlemon Warduni, Chaldean Episcopal vicar of Baghdad, repeats some of his beliefs at the European Parliament: “We do not want to politicise our case. We want to stay in Iraq, in peace with everyone, amidst Iraqis, Kurds, Turkish …”. But, why have you come here, in Strasbourg, to tell about the problems of the Christians in the Middle East? “First and foremost, we simply wanted to find ears that would listen to us – Warduni explains to SIR – and I must admit that many people have come to us, to listen, to enquire, to speak to us, to understand what happens in our country. We have told them about human rights, the work we do not have, the problems of security and peace. Everyone patiently listened to us”.
What about now?
“Now, after the words, we will be waiting for facts, meaning that we rely on effective political measures” to support the future of Iraq. “The Europe of rights should move from words to facts. Not least, because it has not done much so far. But we are very confident”.