Christian leaders at the heart of efforts to rebuild Iraqi towns and villages liberated from Daesh (ISIS) will speak about their work during events in Lancaster, Liverpool, Manchester and Preston next week. Aid to the Church in Need, the charity that helps persecuted Christians around the world, is delighted to announce the visit of two figures central to assisting Iraqi Christian refugees to return to ancestral homelands after they were occupied for up to three years by Daesh.
Fr Salar
Kajo, the parish priest of St George's Church, Teleskeof, is overseeing
the resettlement of a town over-run and destroyed by terrorists on two
occasions since 2014. He will be accompanied by Stephen Rasche, who
serves as the programme coordinator for the return of Christian refugees
of the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil.
The pair will be
joined by Bishop Matthew Kukah of Sokoto, northern Nigeria, who will
speak about the needs of his people in an area still blighted by Boko
Haram terrorist violence.
The visitors will talk about their work
to secondary school children in Preston and in Manchester on Monday, 9
October and Tuesday, 10 October.
They will also speak to the wider
public at the Lancaster University Catholic Chaplaincy Centre between
7.30pm and 9.30pm on 9 October and at the Metropolitan Cathedral of
Christ the King, Liverpool, between 7.30pm and 9.30pm on 10 October.
Admission is free.
The three speakers will travel to London to
join other international guests for the Aid to the Church in Need Event
at Westminster Cathedral on Saturday, 14 October. Mass at 10.30am is
followed by talks in the cathedral hall.
There will be a
presentation of 'Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians
Oppressed for Their Faith', the latest annual report into persecution
globally by Aid to the Church in Need.
Dr Caroline Hull, manager
of the North West office of Aid to the Church in Need, said: "We are
delighted to welcome our visitors from Nigeria and Iraq to the North
West. I know that they are looking forward to sharing their experiences
with all who are able to attend our public events and also with the
young people at our Q&A sessions for schools. Life for Christians in
places like Iraq and Nigeria can be extremely difficult and ACN, along
with our thousands of generous benefactors, can provide hope for a
brighter future to those who are suffering."
For more information, see: www.acnuk.org