By SIR
A delegation of Iraqi bishop will be in Brussels on December 14th and 15th to meet the European Parliament (EP). The news was relayed to SIR by the Chaldean patriarchal vicar of Baghdad, mgr. Shlemon Warduni, who is a member of the delegation along with the Syro-Catholic archbishops of Baghdad and Mosul, mgr. Matti Shaba Matoka and mgr. Georges Casmoussa, respectively. “We will be at the European Parliament where we will describe out real situation – the vicar stated in an interview –. We will make our voice heard by Europe,x and we will tell about our fear as well as our intention not to leave the country”.
This initiative is part of a number of actions aiming to raise the awareness of the public and the international institutions about anti-Christian violence. Such actions include the Fasting Day for the Martyrs of the Syro-Catholic Cathedral of Baghdad, scheduled on December 9th by the Council of Christian Religious Leaders in Iraq. “From this perspective – mgr. Warduni adds –, the request we made to our devotees to abstain from feasting and socialising during the forthcoming Christmas festivities makes more sense”. In the interview, the Chaldean vicar defines “as a step forward” the government establishing a Parliamentary Committee and a police task-force to protect the Christian minorities: “We want no privileges, we only want our rights to be respected”.
A delegation of Iraqi bishop will be in Brussels on December 14th and 15th to meet the European Parliament (EP). The news was relayed to SIR by the Chaldean patriarchal vicar of Baghdad, mgr. Shlemon Warduni, who is a member of the delegation along with the Syro-Catholic archbishops of Baghdad and Mosul, mgr. Matti Shaba Matoka and mgr. Georges Casmoussa, respectively. “We will be at the European Parliament where we will describe out real situation – the vicar stated in an interview –. We will make our voice heard by Europe,x and we will tell about our fear as well as our intention not to leave the country”.
This initiative is part of a number of actions aiming to raise the awareness of the public and the international institutions about anti-Christian violence. Such actions include the Fasting Day for the Martyrs of the Syro-Catholic Cathedral of Baghdad, scheduled on December 9th by the Council of Christian Religious Leaders in Iraq. “From this perspective – mgr. Warduni adds –, the request we made to our devotees to abstain from feasting and socialising during the forthcoming Christmas festivities makes more sense”. In the interview, the Chaldean vicar defines “as a step forward” the government establishing a Parliamentary Committee and a police task-force to protect the Christian minorities: “We want no privileges, we only want our rights to be respected”.
