Sweden deports more Iraqis to Baghdad

By The Swedish Wire
16 February 2011 14:17 Author: AFP /

Swedish police said Wednesday they arrested 16 people overnight protesting the deportation of a group of Iraqis but that the plane carrying the failed asylum-seekers left for Bagdad as planned.
"Some 150 protestors opposed the deportation and blocked the way in and out" of the detention centre where the migrants were staying, police in the western region of Vaestra Goetaland said in a statement.
Officers had ordered the group to leave the area but "unfortunately a large number of the protestors refused to follow police orders".
"Around 90 people were removed ... 16 were arrested," the statement added.
Some 15 protestors had also gathered at Gothenburg's Landvetter airport, but "the plane to Bagdad left according to plan," police said, explaining the decision to deport the Iraqis was taken by the Swedish Migration Board.
According to the local Goeteborgs Posten newspaper, some 15 Iraqis were onboard the plane.
At the airport, protestors yelled that no one was illegal and defended the right to asylum in Sweden.
"We are protesting against this horrible and unacceptable deportation," a protestor identified only as Kim told the newspaper.
Sweden has come under fire from rights groups and the United Nations refugee agency for deporting Iraqis back to their homeland.
Last month, 26 people -- 20 from Sweden and six from Denmark -- were sent back to Iraq despite protests in both Vaestra Goetaland and near Stockholm.
Ahead of those deportations, human rights groups and the UN refugee agency UNHCR had called on the countries to rethink the move, insisting it was too dangerous to send the rejected asylum-seekers -- reportedly some of them Christians and gays who risk persecution -- back to Iraq.
Swedish authorities tightened asylum regulations in 2007, ruling that it was acceptable to return Iraqi citizens to their country.
The decision meant that Iraqis were no longer automatically granted asylum and each case has since then been determined on an individual basis.
Tens of thousands of Iraqis have fled the war in their country to resettle in Sweden, with official statistics showing 117,900 people born in Iraq lived in the Scandinavian country in 2009, up from 49,400 in 2000.

Renowned Iraqi sculptor has vision for Baghdad to 'flower again'

By Christian Science Monitor

By Jane Arraf, Correspondent, February 16, 2011, Baghdad

Mohammad Ghani, one of Iraq's pioneering artists, barely recognizes the Baghdad he left seven years ago.
"When I left Baghdad I never thought I would stay away so long," says Mr. Ghani, on his first trip back to the city he loves since he escaped the postinvasion violence here. Driving through streets choked with concrete barriers, bombed buildings, and trash, his eyes tear up.
"Baghdad is like a beautiful woman, dressed in white … but now ... her hair is dirty, her dress is dirty," says Ghani, whose career as a sculptor spans 60 years. "I don't want to, but it makes me cry."
He says he was afraid to return but was persuaded by the mayor of Baghdad, who has commissioned him to do four new sculptures as part of the revitalization of the city.
Ghani, who studied art in Rome, created many of Baghdad's best-known landmarks, including the huge public sculptures inspired by the fables of "One Thousand and One Nights": On a busy square in central Baghdad, his statue of Kahramana, in the middle of a fountain lit by garish green lights, pours oil on some of the 40 thieves hiding in jars.
Outside the government-owned Rashid Hotel, an astonished fisherman beholds a genie – a wisp of smoke transformed into a sinuous and powerful woman cast in bronze. And on Baghdad's Abu Nuwas Street, named after one of the most famous Abbasid poets, Shehrazad holds the rapt attention of a lounging King Shahryar.

The artist's work and his life have spanned Iraq's recent history. At the Church of the Ascension, for the first time in a decade, Ghani gazes at Stations of the Cross, carved in stone in a combination of the Assyrian bas-reliefs of Ninevah and his own style.
In the rectory kitchen, a relative of one of the most recent victims of the killings of Christians in Baghdad prepared coffee. There are few worshipers left but Ghani recalls that in the Iraq that he knew, even Muslims came to the church to pray.
"I carved these in 1991; at the same moment I was carving, the bombs started to fall," says Ghani, his eyes again filling with tears as he recalls the destruction after the former regime's invasion of Kuwait.

His new works include bronze calligraphy from a poem by Mustafa Jamal al-Din that he plans to install in old Baghdad – the site of the original walled city.
"It says 'Baghdad, no matter what happens to you, you will always flower again,' " says Ghani. "I found this poem carved over his tomb in Damascus. When I read it, at that moment, I promised him I would do it as a fountain in Baghdad."
In his dozens of sculptures throughout the city, gowns cling to voluptuous female forms – unusual in the Arab world. In countries with strict Sunni traditions, depicting human or animal forms, let along barely clothed women, is considered blasphemous.
But "this is the Iraqi character," Ghani says. "They appreciate artists; they like sculpture."
Once, when he was working on a 20-foot statue in his tiny studio, he had to block the roads and complete it in the street. Instead of complaining, the neighbors brought his assistants food and tea, he says.
Ghani himself seems a part of Iraq's lost history. People stop him in the street to shake his hand and pose with him for photographs. One man approached him to return two sculptures he bought after they were looted from the national art museum; he had kept them to give back to Ghani. The carved teak panels were among 150 pieces of his work that took up a floor of the museum – all of them stolen in the days after Saddam Hussein was toppled.
"I don't even know his name – I wanted to thank him," Ghani says.
His former students are white-haired teachers now, with children of their own. His contemporaries – great artists from the 1940s and '50s – have died.
"All of them – the friends my age – are gone. I'm the only one left from my generation," says Ghani.
But when he talks about art or his beloved city, he retains the enthusiasm of a teenager.
After he finishes his four new sculptures, he plans to return to a sculpture he's always dreamed of completing – a larger-than-life Sinbad the Sailor floating in the Tigris River.
"It represents a man who travels and travels … but in the end he returns back to Baghdad," he says. "All Iraqis, especially now, each one of them is a Sinbad. All of them dream of returning to Baghdad."

Condemning violence against Middle East Christians too ‘politically incorrect’ for EU ministers

By LifeSiteNews

by Hilary White

The Council of Europe has done it and so has the EU Parliament, but the EU’s Foreign Ministers have balked at a call to condemn by name the escalating violence and discrimination against Christians in the Middle East. At a meeting on January 31, EU’s 27 Foreign Ministers rejected a draft resolution condemning atrocities against Christian minorities in Egypt and Iraq out of fears of “political incorrectness.”
The European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Baroness Catherine Ashton, said the 27 ministers had to “go back and reflect” on how, in the course of backing religious freedoms and tolerance, they could “make sure we recognise individual communities of whatever religion who find themselves being harassed or worse.”
The discomfort at mentioning Christianity was shared by the representatives of some heavily secularized Scandinavian countries as well as the UK.
The failure of the foreign ministers to back the draft resolution follows the swift passage of a similar document by the EU Parliament on January 20, 2011 that condemned attacks “which compromise Christian communities’ existence and those of other religious communities.” The resolution condemned persecutions of Christians in Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Cyprus, Iran, India and Iraq.
The document also pointed to incidents of religious discrimination against Christians in Europe and called on Ashton’s office to create a strategy to enforce the human right to freedom of religion.
The Council of Europe, the larger body of 47 member states, also said in a report titled “Violence against Christians in the Middle East,” that “the situation has become more serious since the beginning of the 21st century and, if it is not properly addressed, it could lead to the disappearance, in the short term, of Christian communities from the Middle East.”
The two documents called for various states to establish a monitoring body for religious persecution, the development of comprehensive asylum policies for religious refugees and help to relocate Christian refugees.
At the time the EU parliament’s resolution was passed, Ashton said, “The EU will not turn a blind eye to the persecutions of Christians around the world.” Earlier, Ashton had “unreservedly” condemned the attack on a Coptic church in December in Egypt that killed 23 people. She said, “The right of Christian Copts to gather and worship freely must be protected.”
The foreign ministers’ reticence was criticized by Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini who said the draft proposal showed an “excess of secularism.”
“The final text didn’t include any mention of Christians, as if we were talking of something else, so I asked the text to be withdrawn, so in fact it has been withdrawn,” he said. The move to withdraw the resolution was backed by the French minister, who wanted to mention Christians by name, as well as Shi’ite Muslims.
Italian MP Luca Volontè expressed his disappointment, saying, “The incapability to stand up as one European voice against the atrocities inflicted recently upon Christians in large parts of the worlds is absolutely incomprehensible, especially after the two unequivocal texts adopted by the Parliament and the Council of Europe.”
Maltese MEP David Casa said, “How is it possible to properly condemn these atrocities without any mention of the targets?”
“If we intend spending tax payer’s money to draft pieces of paper stating that people should not be blown up in general we should all just pack up and go home.”
“Perhaps our High Representative should be better informed as to who she is representing? We have become incapable of condemning attacks on our fellow Christians - What a sad day for Europe!”
The Commission of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) said they “very much regret” the ministers’ “diplomatic wavering.”
“This diplomatic wavering is all the more incomprehensible as innocent lives are being cut short in atrocious attacks against Christians and other minorities all over the world,” a COMECE statement said.
“The recent attacks against Christians are not isolated cases. Statistics on religious freedom in recent years show that the majority of acts of religious violence are perpetrated against Christians.”
Fabio Bernabei, head of the Rome-based rights group Centro Culturale Lepanto, commented that the ministers “are pathological anti-Christian elites who plot in decision-making in Brussels in conjunction with the directions of the media conglomerates.”
Father Waldemar Cislo, director of the Polish section of the international charity Aid to the Church in Need, condemned the “politically correct” obsession of some EU ministers.
“It looks as if Europe forgets Christianity again in the name of some strange principles of political correctness.”
The mass murder of Christians during religious services in political hot-spot countries, including the murder of 58 Iraqi Catholics in Baghdad in October and 23 Coptic Christians in Egypt in December, have caught international headlines; but Aid to the Church in Need estimates that as many as 170,000 Christians are killed out of hatred for their beliefs around the world each year, largely in Muslim dominated countries.
In his message for January 1st World Day of Peace, Pope Benedict XVI said that politicians have a special duty to defend the human rights of Christian believers being persecuted around the globe. Such attacks, the pope said, are “a threat to security and peace, and an obstacle to the achievement of authentic and integral human development.”
“It is painful to think that in some areas of the world it is impossible to profess one’s religion freely except at the risk of life and personal liberty,” the pope said. In a probable reference to official European anti-Christian sentiment, Benedict added, “In other areas we see more subtle and sophisticated forms of prejudice and hostility towards believers and religious symbols.”
Aid to the Church in Need issued a report on anti-Christian incidents around the world for 2009-2010 that found that “in every third country” real religious freedom does not exist; cases of overt discrimination against Christians were found in over 70 countries.

Contact information

Baroness Ashton

Deputy Spokesperson:

Maja Kocijancic

Tel : +32 (0)2 298 65 70

Mobile : +32 (0)498 982 892

Email: maja.kocijancic@ec.europa.eu

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

The Rt. Hon. William Hague MP

Foreign & Commonwealth Office,

King Charles Street,

London SW1A 2AH

44 208 760 3127

www.fco.gov.uk/en/ministerial-feedback-form

Persecuted Iraqi Christians Reach Out to US

By Newsmax February 15, 2011

By Ken Timmerman

Christians in Washington, D.C., and Erbil, Iraq, joined hands through the Internet on Monday to celebrate the beginning of a three-day period of repentance and prayer known as the Rogation of the Ninevites.The prayers came at a particularly dangerous time for Iraqi Christians, who have been fleeing Baghdad, Mosul, and other mixed-population areas since the Oct. 31, 2010, attack on a Baghdad church by jihadi Muslims who murdered 58 worshippers and wounded 78 more.
“Since the beginning of November and Christmas, we have registered more than 2,300 Christian families who have fled to northern Iraq seeking safety,” said William Warda, president of the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, an aide group that works with Christians and other minorities who have been forced to flee their homes in Iraq because of the jihadi Muslim attacks. “We checked every village in the Nineveh Plain and in the Kurdish region in the north,” Warda told Newsmax by phone from Baghdad.

“The flow of refugees has continued unabated since then.”

In Ainkawa, a Christian suburb of the Kurdish capital, Erbil, Christians have lived for centuries in relative peace. The Kurdish government has welcomed the latest wave of Christian refugees. But many Christians have been fleeing Kurdistan because they cannot find housing or jobs.

The Rev. Rayan Atto, a 31-year old Chaldean priest at Mar Qarakh in Erbil, led prayers on Monday at his church to start the three-day fast and repentance period that commemorates the Prophet Jonah’s summons to the people of Ninevah to repent or face destruction.

He was joined via a Skype Internet connection from Washington by the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, who heads the Christian Defense Coalition. Mahoney had planned to travel to northern Iraq to celebrate the Rogation of the Ninevites with church leaders in the Nineveh Plain and Mosul, the current-day city that sits on the ruins of ancient Nineveh, but church leaders told him it was too dangerous for him to come because of the risk of jihadi Muslim attacks.

Instead, he led a group of 50 church leaders and human rights leaders in prayers in front of the White House.

“There are Rogation ceremonies happening all across the United States in the next three days, as we pray for peace in Iraq and pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ,” Mahoney told worshippers in northern Iraq via the Skype call. “We are kneeling right now. The Christians of America stand in solidarity with you, Father. We love you,” Mahoney said.

“This is important,” Rayan said in Erbil. “As the Holy Father confirmed last month, we are praying for the unity of Christians. This is the moment to show our unity and prayers and support of each other . . . I give you all thanks, and I pray for you.”

The Aramaic liturgy for the Rogation ceremony dates from the 4th century and is used widely in Ainkawa and across the Nineveh plain, although refugees from Baghdad felt more familiar singing the prayers in Arabic. Kris Keating, a 32-year-old leader of Christian missions with Reach the Nations in Richmond, Va., decided to join Rayan in person. “It is exciting to stand in unity with Christians in Iraq. An event like today’s demonstrates that Jesus is as Iraqi as he is American,” he told Newsmax. “The need to protect Iraqi Christian minority from persecution is more urgent than the world knows. Praying and meeting with Father Rayan moves me to find more ways to support my persecuted brothers and sisters here,” he said.

IRAQ: CRISTIANO RAPITO DAVANTI ALLA SUA CASA A KIRKUK

By AGI
Un gruppo di uomini armati ha rapito ieri sera un cristiano a Kirkuk, citta' multietnica a 250 chilometri a nord di Baghdad. Iyad Dawoud Salman e' stato sequestrato davanti alla sua abitazione nell'area di Dor al-Zira'a, vicino piazza al-Ithifalat, nella parte sudoccidentale della citta'. A riferirlo sono fonti della polizia locale.

Secondo il sito Ankawa.com, Ayad Daud Suleiman 'Askar, ha 53 anni, è sposato, ha un figlio ed una figlia e suo fratello, Sabah Daud 'Askar, fu ucciso sempre a Kirkuk nell'agosto del 2009.

Sempre secondo il sito Ankawa.com che riporta la notizia dal sito PUKmedia oggi nel quartiere di Hay Al Jihad a Baghdad la casa di una famiglia cristiana è stata attaccata da uomini armati. Il bilancio è di due morti ed un ferito.

Concerns voiced that Middle East Synod was misunderstood by Muslims

By EWTN
By Alan Holdren, Rome Correspondent

The Vatican’s 2010 meeting for the Middle East has been misunderstood by many in the region as calling for a “new crusade” against Islam.
As officials gathered in Rome recently to assess last October’s special Synod for Bishops, a veteran Vatican adviser on Christian-Muslim dialogue told EWTN News that many saw Muslims saw the Synod as “a new project against Islam.”
“Many people, many Muslims, who have no idea of Christianity at all are interpreting it ... as a new crusade,” Father Samir Khalil Samir, SJ, of the Pontifical Oriental Institute said in a late January interview.
Church leaders from the region and Vatican officials met Jan. 20-21 to assess reactions to the Synod, and to suggest themes for the document that Pope Benedict XVI is writing in response to the Synod, known as a “post-synodal apostolic exhortation.”
On Feb. 8, the Vatican issued a statement that concluded: the “socio-political situation in the various countries of the Middle East remains tense.”
Fr. Samir said that the Synod was widely interpreted in political, not religious terms. “When Muslims meet,” he said, “usually they meet on a political level.” As a result, many saw the bishops as meeting to discuss “how to attack Islam.”
“Fifty-seven Muslim countries meet yearly, usually invited by Saudi Arabia and they discuss as nations how to defend Islam,” he said. “In their mentality, the West is still seen as Christian nations. It is still Christianity against Islam – properly because they don’t make a difference between religion and state.”
In its statement, the Vatican reported that the Synod’s final message had been sent to “political figures” throughout the region. It also reported that an international congress had been held in Syria on the state of Muslim-Christian relations in Arab countries. In addition, a meeting of Christians and Jews has been held in Jerusalem to “promote more objective information about the synodal assembly.”
The Vatican insisted in its statement that “respect for Christian communities” is necessary to “to eradicate any hotbeds of anti-Christian sentiment in the Middle East, to halt the emigration of Christians from that region, which is their native land, and to favor the common good.”
The Vatican’s press office said the meeting was held to prepare the council members for direct collaboration in the Pope’s eventual preparation of a final document, called an apostolic exhortation. The Pope will set forth his teaching to guide the future of the Church on pastoral and practical questions proposed at the conclusion of the Synod.
The next meeting of the Special Council for the Middle East of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, under the leadership of the Synod’s secretary general, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, will be held Mar. 30-31.

Des rescapés de l’attentat irakien en pèlerinage à Lourdes

By Zenit

A l’occasion de la fête de Notre-Dame de Lourdes, le 11 février

Les sanctuaires de Lourdes ont annoncé dans un communiqué qu'ils recevraient des chrétiens blessés lors de l'attentat de Bagdad, le 11 février prochain, à l'occasion du 153e anniversaire de la première Apparition de Marie à Bernadette Soubirous. « Quarante-six fidèles ont péri et plus d'une soixantaine d'autres ont été blessés lors d'un attentat, dans la cathédrale Notre-Dame de la Délivrance, à Bagdad, le 31 octobre 2010 », rappelle le communiqué. « Aujourd'hui, des rescapés de cet attentat sont soignés en France. Invités par les responsables des Sanctuaires de Lourdes, en partenariat avec l'Oeuvre d'Orient (la seule association française entièrement dédiée au soutien des chrétiens orientaux depuis plus de 150 ans), ils seront en pèlerinage à la Grotte de Massabielle », le 11 février prochain. Ce jour-là, ils participeront à la messe internationale ainsi qu'aux processions eucharistique (17h) et mariale (21h). Mgr Raphaël Kutaimi, recteur de la cathédrale touchée par l'attentat, accompagnera cette délégation de « pèlerins de la paix ». « Leur présence - rappelle le communiqué - nous rappelle que Lourdes demeure le sanctuaire de la fraternité universelle, où l'unité des peuples et leur réconciliation se vit dans une espérance commune ». Le message envoyé par Benoît XVI au lendemain de cet attentat est ainsi mis en pratique : « Face aux épisodes de violence atroce qui continuent de déchirer les populations du Moyen-Orient, je voudrais enfin renouveler de façon pressante mon appel à la paix : celle-ci est un don de Dieu mais aussi le résultat des efforts des hommes de bonne volonté, des institutions nationales et internationales ». La première apparition de Marie à Bernadette Soubirous s'est déroulée le jeudi 11 février 1858. Dans la matinée, Bernadette Soubirous vient à la grotte de Massabielle pour ramasser du bois. Sentant comme « un coup de vent », son regard se tourne vers la grotte. Elle y voit « une petite dame à peu près grande comme moi », témoignera-t-elle plus tard. Après sa première réaction de peur, elle fait avec la Dame le signe de la Croix, puis récite le chapelet.
Aucune parole n'est échangée durant cette Apparition qui dura, selon l'historien de Lourdes, le père René Laurentin, une quinzaine de minutes. A partir de ce 11 février, 17 autres Apparitions se dérouleront, dont la majeure partie pendant la période du carême. Bernadette verra la Dame lors d'une dernière Apparition, le 16 juillet 1858.

Iraqi Christians make Lourdes pilgrimage

By Expatica

Iraqi Christians who were wounded in a deadly attack on their church in Baghdad last year made a pilgrimage to the renowned Catholic shrine at Lourdes in France on Friday.
About 40 Iraqis, including the wounded and their relatives, visited the southwestern town where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared and performed miracles in a cave that is now a site of pilgrimage for millions of Christians.
The Iraqis, who were brought to France last month for the wounded to be treated after the October attack, wept and recited prayers as a French priest held a service in an underground chapel, before they visited the cave nearby.
Forty-four worshippers, two priests and seven security personnel died when the Syriac Catholic cathedral in Baghdad was seized by Al-Qaeda gunmen and then stormed by Iraqi and US security forces. Around 60 people were wounded.
"We came to pray to the Holy Virgin, who is our mother. We keep the hope that she can heal us and give us peace, in Iraq and everywhere," said Raphael Kutaimi, rector of the Baghdad cathedral and sole survivor among the clergy who were officiating.
"We ask for peace so that all Christians can live in peace with Muslims." An estimated 800,000 Christians lived in Iraq before the US-led invasion of 2003 but the community says that number has since shrunk to around 500,000 in the face of repeated attacks against their community and churches.

Domani Anci Liguria a Palazzo Ducale all’incontro "Quei cristiani invisibili"

By Riviera24.it
di Ma. Gu.

Comuni attivi per la libertà religiosa e in particolare contro la cristianofobia.
Aderendo alla sollecitazione di ANCI nazionale, anche ANCI Liguria invita i comuni attivarsi per promuovere nelle comunità la convivenza pacifica fra diversi popoli, culture, etnie, religioni e forme di governo.
I recenti attacchi alle minoranze cristiane perseguitate attraverso legislazioni discriminanti, violenze di ogni genere e uccisioni in Iraq, Pakistan, Cina, Egitto, Iran e Filippine, hanno indotto la comunità internazionale a pronunciarsi a tutti i livelli in favore della convivenza e del dialogo e contro gli attacchi alle comunità cristiane.
Sono infatti oltre cinquanta milioni i cristiani vittime di persecuzioni e discriminazioni nel mondo.
“Invitiamo i Comuni a mobilitarsi in favore della libertà religiosa promuovendo un ordine dei giorno sulla cristianofobia da proporre ai Consigli comunali. Molti comuni in Italia lo hanno già fatto. Noi abbiamo inviato oggi una comunicazione per sensibilizzare i nostri 235 comuni” commenta Pierluigi Vinai, segretario di ANCI Liguria.
In linea con questo approccio al tema della cristianofobia e della libertà religiosa, domani ANCI Liguria parteciperà all’incontro “Quei cristiani invisibili”, organizzato dalla Fondazione per la Cultura, a Palazzo Ducale alle 17.45.

Quei cristiani invisibili

venerdì 11 febbraio 2011, ore 17.30
Salone del Maggior Consiglio, Palazzo Ducale, Piazza Matteotti 9, Genova

Con la partecipazione della Consulta delle Religioni di Genova.

Introducono:
Luca Borzani, Genova Palazzo Ducale Fondazione per la Cultura
e
Andrea Chiappori, Comunità di Sant'Egidio

Cristiani perseguitati "Davanti a loro riscopriamo il nostro tesoro"

By Tracce.it
di Giorgio Paolucci

11/02/2011 - All'auditorium di Bergamo, un incontro sulla persecuzione dei cristiani. Una «carneficina» che induce molti a emigrare. E tra le testimonianze si alza l'appello dei sacerdoti iracheni: «Non dimenticatevi di noi»

Intere famiglie uccise nelle loro case, studenti aggrediti mentre vanno a scuola, attentati alle chiese. Il più recente, il 31 ottobre scorso nella chiesa siro-cattolica di Baghdad, è costato la vita a 55 persone, tra cui due sacerdoti. È il martirio dei cristiani d’Iraq, colpevoli unicamente di professare la loro fede. Una carneficina che induce molti a emigrare, svuotando progressivamente i luoghi dove stanno le radici stesse del cristianesimo.
È il grido di dolore che si è levato ieri sera dall’auditorium del Collegio vescovile Sant’Alessandro a Bergamo, dove la diocesi ha promosso una serata di testimonianze sulla persecuzione dei cristiani.
«Dal punto di vista numerico siamo una minoranza, come nel resto del Medio Oriente, ma chiediamo gli stessi diritti di cittadinanza e di libertà religiosa del popolo a cui apparteniamo, il popolo iracheno», dice Mikhael Al Jamil, arcivescovo iracheno, procuratore a Roma del patriarcato siro-cattolico e visitatore apostolico per i siro-cattolici in Europa. Che lamenta l’indifferenza dell’Europa di fronte al dramma che si sta consumando nel suo Paese e la latitanza rispetto all’emigrazione forzata dei cristiani dal Medio Oriente.
Don Robert Saeed Jarjis, giovane sacerdote di Baghdad che ha da poco ultimato gli studi biblici a Roma, racconta lo sgomento di fronte alle immagini di tanti suoi amici uccisi nell’attentato del 31 ottobre. In questi giorni tornerà a casa, ma non li troverà più. «Eppure capisco che ciò che ancora mi unisce a loro, il corpo mistico di Cristo a cui apparteniamo, è più forte della morte che ci ha separato. E a voi italiani chiedo di pregare perché si alimenti la fedeltà a questo corpo mistico». È la testimonianza semplice e commovente di un uomo che non nasconde di avere paura, ma insieme riconosce di non essere determinato dalla durezza della situazione che deve affrontare ma dalla grandezza della vocazione che lo costituisce.
La persecuzione dei cristiani, che in Iraq trova una delle sue espressioni più drammatiche, viene raccontata nella sua drammatica estensione planetaria da Mario Mauro, uno degli europarlamentari più attivi nella difesa della libertà religiosa. «Negli ultimi cinque anni, su 100 persone che hanno perso la vita per motivi religiosi, 75 erano cristiane. In 52 Stati del mondo si muore perché si crede in Gesù. Non solo Paesi islamici, ma anche luoghi dove il potere non ammette presenze scomode e ultimamente irriducibili perché tese al bene della persona come bene supremo. In molte regioni i cristiani vivono come vasi di coccio in mezzo a vasi di ferro. E un’ Europa dimentica delle radici storiche e culturali che l’hanno resa grande si dimostra balbettante e incapace di svolgere un’azione adeguata per tutelare la libertà religiosa, che non è un diritto tra tanti, ma il fondamento di tutti i diritti umani».
Concludendo l’incontro, il vescovo di Bergamo Francesco Beschi sottolinea la lezione che viene dalle testimonianze ascoltate: «A noi, che qui viviamo una vita tutto sommato comoda, sembra incredibile che ci siano luoghi dove la professione della fede cristiana mette a rischio la vita, e dove anche andare a messa diventa un atto di coraggio. La testimonianza dei nostri fratelli perseguitati ci commuove, ci scuote e ci ricorda che abbiamo ricevuto un tesoro di cui spesso non siamo consapevoli. Non possiamo dimenticarci di loro: il nostro impegno e la nostra preghiera per loro è anche per tutti i perseguitati nel mondo».

Verso un nuovo Iraq? Le proteste egiziane viste dall'Iraq

By SIR

Timore di un nuovo Iraq: è il sentimento con cui gli iracheni guardano alle proteste in corso dal 25 gennaio in Egitto. Non ha dubbi l’arcivescovo di Kirkuk, mons. Louis Sako, quando gli si chiede quale eco stanno avendo le manifestazioni in piazza Tahrir. Sprofondati nella divisione e nell’odio tribale e religioso, colpiti da una violenza che sembra non trovare fine, gli iracheni temono che possa accadere lo stesso anche in Egitto, Paese di grande influenza nel mondo arabo. Non manca, certo, la speranza che le proteste possano avere un esito positivo e far guadagnare al Paese un futuro di democrazia e di giustizia sociale, ma per adesso prevale un “crudo realismo”. Il SIR ha parlato con mons. Sako proprio in questi giorni in cui la sua diocesi è stata toccata da una serie di attentati che hanno provocato 9 morti e 104 feriti.
“Ci sono forze e movimenti islamici che vogliono cambiare il Medio Oriente, creando Stati islamici, dei califfati, in cui vige la sharia – esordisce mons. Sako –. Gli attacchi a tre quartieri di Kirkuk, come in altre parti dell’Iraq sono opera di questi gruppi islamisti come Al Qaeda e Ansar al Islam. Il nostro governo non sembra in grado di garantire la sicurezza dei suoi cittadini”.
Eccellenza, dall’Egitto arrivano notizie che dicono che dall’Iraq siano partiti appelli inneggianti alla guerra santa e quindi a dare una valenza religiosa alle proteste in corso...
“Questi appelli rientrano nel tentativo di islamizzazione del Medio Oriente da parte di gruppi radicali che hanno il chiaro intento di fomentare, in questa area del mondo, un cambiamento religioso totale. Si tratta di voci che potrebbero trovare terreno fertile in Egitto e altrove e quindi non sono da sottovalutare anche perché ci sono potenze regionali i cui leader hanno definito queste rivolte il ‘risveglio dell’Islam’. Tra i manifestanti in piazza Tahrir cominciano a vedersi anche diversi fondamentalisti, molti usciti di prigione, il cui scopo è creare il vuoto per poterlo riempire di temi religiosi convinti come sono che l’Islam sia la soluzione di tutto”.

Che rischi vede per il Medio Oriente in questa fase delicata?
“Il Medio Oriente è un vulcano che fa paura, ci sono focolai di rivolte un po’ dovunque, anche se vanno operati dei distinguo in ordine alle cause. È, tuttavia, una situazione preoccupante, cominciata con l’Iraq, la Tunisia, l’Egitto, e a poco a poco stiamo vedendo la Giordania, lo Yemen, la Siria. Se l’Egitto dovesse cadere in mano a forze islamiste sarà un problema per tutti e con innegabili ricadute negative per le minoranze cristiane”.

Crede che l’Occidente abbia ben compreso questo rischio di islamizzazione del Medio Oriente?
“La mentalità occidentale non consente di comprendere a pieno questo rischio. In Oriente tutto è religioso, anche la concezione politica, non c’è separazione tra politica e religione come in Occidente dove c’è un vuoto terribile. Siamo di fronte a due estremismi: il primo è religioso, orientale musulmano, il secondo, occidentale, ed è il secolarismo che non vuole nemmeno riconoscere che la storia dell’Occidente è cristiana. Tutti i valori cristiani sono messi in disparte, confinati nella sfera privata delle persone. Non c’è violenza materiale ma questo atteggiamento è contro la democrazia. In Oriente invece è l’opposto, la religione pervade tutto”.

Cosa può fare la comunità internazionale per sostenere lo sviluppo democratico di questi Paesi in cui stanno avendo luogo le proteste?
“La comunità internazionale è incapace di muoversi. Osserviamo adesso che gli Usa seguono con particolare preoccupazione la crisi egiziana. Il futuro di questa area del mondo è ignoto e fa paura. Penso al mio Paese, l’Iraq: all’inizio gli Usa sono venuti parlando di democrazia, prosperità, ricchezza. Oggi l’Iraq è povero e con molti problemi. La democrazia non è un concetto esportabile. Se democrazia e libertà devono esserci, queste siano per tutti e non solo per un piccolo gruppo”.

Quali sono i sentimenti degli iracheni davanti alle manifestazioni egiziane contro Mubarak?
“Posso dire che sono sentimenti di tristezza. Gli iracheni hanno paura che l’Egitto, che ha un grande impatto sugli altri Paesi mediorientali, sprofondi nella divisione etnica e religiosa avviandosi a replicare la situazione drammatica dell’Iraq. I timori di un nuovo Iraq sono evidenti”.

"Wir geben Zeugnis ab, selbst durch das Martyrium"

By Zenit, 7. Februar 2011
Von Michaela Koller

Der Kölner Erzbischof Joachim Kardinal Meisner sieht die Angst vor dem Islam in der Glaubensschwäche des Westens begründet. Als Beispiel für diese Schwäche verwies der Kardinal beim VIII. Pater-Werenfried-Jahresgedenken, das das weltweite katholische Hilfswerk "Kirche in Not" am Samstag im Kölner Maternushaus veranstaltete, auf das von 208 Theologen aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum unterzeichnete Memorandum vom 4. Februar mit Reformvorschlägen für die katholische Kirche: „Kirche 2011: Ein notwendiger Aufbruch".
Die Verfasser der Schrift fordern darin unter anderem, die Haltung gegenüber der Homosexualität zu ändern. Der Kardinal kritisierte, dass sich die Unterzeichner damit gegen das Naturrecht stellten: "Wo leben die denn?", fragte er rhetorisch. Um letztlich auch Andersgläubige mit dem Glauben anstecken zu können, müssten die Gläubigen im Einklang mit der Gott gegebenen natürlichen Ordnung "christoaktiv" aufgeladen sein. "Dann brauchen wir vor dem Islam keine Angst zu haben", betonte Kardinal Meisner mit Blick auf die unsichere Zukunft in den Ländern des Nahen Ostens infolge der Proteste gegen autoritäre Regime. Hinsichtlich der Auseinandersetzung mit dem Islam, der auch in Europa stärker werde, mahnte der Kardinal mit den Worten des heiligen Petrus: "Brüder, seid nüchtern und wachsam."

Mit dem Kölner Erzbischof diskutierten Erzbischof Louis Sako aus dem irakischen Kirkuk und Pater Josef Herget CM vom Institut St. Justinus im österreichischen Mariazell über das Thema "Christentum und Islam: Umbruch im Nahen Osten - was wird aus den Christen?".
Konkrete Beispiele für die Ausstrahlungskraft des Christentums auf Muslime schilderte der Vinzentinerpater Josef Herget. Mit einem "zehn- oder elfjährigen Bub" habe seine Arbeit mit Konversionswilligen angefangen. Seit dieser Zeit kümmert er sich intensiv um jene Türken, die im westlichen Europa neugierig auf den christlichen Glauben sind und im christlichen Glauben unterwiesen werden wollen. "Die Taufbewerber kommen von selbst", sagte er. "Sie haben ein Recht darauf, von Christus zu hören."
Inzwischen gebe es in Österreich, bei Wien und Graz, zwei Pfarrgemeinden für Katholiken türkischer Herkunft. Er habe selbst zwölf Jahre in der Türkei gelebt und sich ein Bild von den Menschen und dem Islam machen können. "Es gibt nur einen Gott, aber das Gottesbild ist verschieden", betonte der Pater. Das christliche Gottesbild vermittle, "dass Gott mich liebt". Daraus ergebe sich, dass es sich beim Islam um eine "radikal andere Religion" handle, die von Anfang an auch das politische und soziale System bestimmt habe. "Politik und Religion sind darin nicht auseinanderzuhalten", sagte er.

"Es gibt gezielte Pläne der Islamisierung der ganzen Welt", berichtete Erzbischof Louis Sako von Kirkuk im Norden des Irak. Deshalb hätten die Christen in Nahost angesichts der aktuellen Umbruchsituation sehr viel Angst, dass sich etwa ein flächendeckender Wandel hin zu religiösen Systemen wie im Iran vollziehe. Nach dem Selbstverständnis des Islam sei dieser die Vollendung der Religionen und damit den Überzeugungen von Juden und Christen überlegen, die als Bürger zweiter Klasse betrachtet und behandelt würden.
Die Demokratisierung, auf die viele Beobachter der derzeitigen Umbrüche in den arabischen Ländern hofften, sei ein umfassendes Projekt und könne nicht fertig eingeführt werden. Das sei die Erfahrung, die das Beispiel Irak zeige. Durch Bildung etwa könnten Voraussetzungen für eine friedliche Zukunft geschaffen werden. Christen könnten dabei eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Sie könnten bei den Muslimen Ansätze fördern, den Koran weniger wörtlich zu verstehen, als vielmehr zu interpretieren und ihn in seinen historischen Kontext zu setzen.
Christen und Muslime hätten im Mittelalter ein gemeinsames philosophisches Vokabular gefunden. Nun müssten beide Religionen zu einer neuen gemeinsamen Sprache kommen. "Wir brauchen moralische, menschliche und spirituelle Solidarität", appellierte der irakische Erzbischof an die Christen im Westen. Die Christen im Nahen Osten wüssten, was Dialog ist und wie man mit den Muslimen reden kann. "Wir geben Zeugnis ab, selbst durch das Martyrium", sagte Erzbischof Sako.

Nella tensione in Medio Oriente, i Vescovi preoccupati per i cristiani

By Zenit, 8 febbraio 2011

Tra le tensioni che si vivono in Medio Oriente, i Vescovi e la Santa Sede sono preoccupati per le difficoltà che attraversano le comunità cristiane.
E' giunta a questa conclusione la seconda riunione del Consiglio Speciale per il Medio Oriente della Segreteria Generale del Sinodo dei Vescovi, riunita a Roma il 20 e il 21 gennaio per aiutare Benedetto XVI ad applicare le conclusioni dell'assemblea sinodale per questa zona del pianeta, celebrata nell'ottobre scorso.
“Dai contributi dei singoli Membri si è potuto constatare che le condizioni socio-politiche generali restano tese in vari Paesi del Medio Oriente”, spiega un comunicato conclusivo diffuso questo martedì.
“Le comunità cristiane soprattutto nei luoghi duramente colpiti da violenze e attentati hanno bisogno di sostegno materiale e morale e hanno diritto di esercitare la loro libertà di culto e di religione”, afferma il testo.
“Il rispetto delle comunità cristiane aiuta a spegnere in Medio Oriente eventuali focolai anti cristiani, ad arrestare l’emigrazione dei cristiani dalla regione, loro terra nativa, e favorisce il bene comune”, aggiungono i membri del consiglio sinodale.
L'incontro è servito per assistere Benedetto XVI nella preparazione e nella redazione dell'esortazione apostolica postsinodale che sarà firmata dal Pontefice stesso e raccoglierà le proposte sorte dal primo Sinodo per il Medio Oriente nella storia della Chiesa.
Tra i partecipanti c'erano il Cardinale Antonios Naguib, Patriarca di Alessandria dei Copti (Egitto), Sua Beatitudine Ignace Youssif III Younan, Patriarca di Antiochia dei Siri (Libano), Sua Beatitudine Michel Sabbah, Patriarca emerito di Gerusalemme dei Latini, e monsignor Shlemon Warduni, Vescovo di Curia del Patriarcato di Babilonia dei Caldei (Iraq).

“A stable world is in everyone’s interests”

By swissinfo.com
by Eveline Kobler
(Adapted from German by Thomas Stephens)

Following attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt and Christians in Iraq, a diplomat tells swissinfo.ch how Switzerland is trying to combat religiously motivated violence.
Claude Wild is head of a political division within the foreign ministry concerned with religion, politics and conflict.
On January 6 an attack outside a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt, killed 23 people and left dozens wounded.
And Iraq is experiencing an exodus of Christians following attacks there at the end of last year.
swissinfo.ch: Switzerland is involved in peace work and supports the harmonious coexistence between people of different religions and worldviews. Why?
Claude Wild: It belongs to the Swiss tradition of standing up for peace, human rights and vulnerable people. Second, it’s in our own interests to live in a stable world. Foreign policy is a policy of protecting interests. We are a country that needs security – it’s also necessary for safeguarding our prosperity.
A stable world, in which international rules are upheld and people of different worldviews and religions can live in peace, is in the interest of not only people who suffer but of everyone.
swissinfo.ch: Is Switzerland currently active in Egypt or Iraq?
C.W.: Neither country is a priority region of Switzerland’s peace work – many other countries are active there. We have however carried out a human rights project in Iraq in which we offered officials training in the area of human rights so they could expand their knowledge of protecting minorities and religious freedom.
We’re also busy with a pilot project in Egypt co-run by Islamic women and a Christian non-governmental organisation from Switzerland. They cooperate on humanitarian issues, developing projects and getting to know the other religion and worldview in a really natural and practical way. This approach is typical of our “religion and conflicts” work – we call it “dialogue in practice”.
swissinfo.ch: Is Swiss involvement not perceived as interference?
C.W.: No. We don’t have any “hidden agenda” and we were never a colonial power. We’re interested in a stable world but we’re not playing power politics. And our projects are always agreed upon. We never do anything of which a government is unaware. Also we’re frequently asked to help.
swissinfo.ch: Has the potential for conflict between Islam and Christianity increased? Why has the situation escalated now?
C.W.: Over past decades the number of Christians in the Middle East has constantly dwindled. In some countries the Christian minority is respected, for example Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In others they’re in a tricky situation as a result of their country’s instability. But other minorities are in the same boat.
This is the case in Iraq, where Christians aren’t displaced by the state but by the general instability. The Iraqi population as a whole is suffering equally under Islamic extremists.
The state has said it protects minorities, but it can’t enforce this. What’s more, there’s currently a power struggle going on among Muslim communities. The Shiites were oppressed for a long time and are now demanding their share of power. There were Christian ministers in Saddam Hussein’s government who are now considered accomplices of the former regime, which could also lead to acts of revenge on Christians.
The West needs to bear in mind that Christians in the Middle East aren’t immigrants forming an extension of the West – they have always lived in the region. Extremists are now trying to create a false impression by describing them as foreigners.
swissinfo.ch: Is religion central to conflicts, or is it a side issue?
C.W.: Religion certainly plays a role in conflicts, but often it is used in order to distinguish one group from another or to strengthen a group’s identity. By and large these groups persecute others as purely religious targets.
History shows that conflicts are always about power and the control of land and resources. Religion is often used with the express intention of attracting people in droves. Religion is used in the power game of politics.

Figures Show Rising Number of Displaced Iraqi Christians

By Christian Post

A growing number of displaced Iraqi Christians are seeking refuge in the country’s north as insecurity drives families from their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The recent report revealed an estimated 1,078 Christian families have fled to Kurdistan, the autonomous region governed by the Kurdistan Regional Government, within the past three months. Out of that total, 747 have occurred just since Dec. 15. Another 276 families were displaced to the nearby northwest province of Ninewah during this period, while many more who remain have also indicated plans to move.
Though the report assessed the situation of internally displaced Christians in the predominately Muslim country, it also highlighted that many have sought refuge in nearby countries, particularly in Turkey.
“Our monitors do report though that they are hearing of many emigrations abroad, and many more who hope to emigrate in the future,” IOM Displacement Monitoring Officer Keegan de Lancie told Agence France-Presse. “Colleagues in Turkey have reported a spike in Christian families seeking refuge there.”
De Lancie also noted that Christian Iraqi families generally consisted of four to five members.
The movement of Christians to the north continues to escalate in spite of efforts by Iraqi security forces to enforce heightened protective measures for the minority group whose population has rapidly declined since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. Before 2003 there were approximately 1.4 million Christians. Today, there are an estimated 400,000 that remain.
The deadly Oct. 31 attack at Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad sparked the recent exodus of Christians. During that massacre, 15 Al Qaida-linked militants attacked the Sunday service mass, leaving 44 worshippers and three priests dead.
The large influx of Christians into the north has led to soaring accommodation prices, with rental prices in the small town of Ainkawa just north of Kurdistan’s capital Arbil, rising by 200-300% since November.
Iraqi Kurdistan is known as a safe haven in the otherwise dangerous country, having remained relatively calm since 1991 during which the region became a semi-autonomous enclave under the protection of the West.
The IOM has partnered with different organizations including UNICEF, to provide non-food items such as mattresses, stoves and hygiene kits to nearly 600 displaced Christian families trying to settle in the northern governorates of Erbil, Dahuk, Sulaymaniyah and Ninewa.

Iraqi Christians find refuge in France

By CNN February 7, 2011

Creteil, France (CNN) At Sunday mass in the suburbs outside Paris, a score of Iraqi Catholics are praying for themselves and their families.
They are part of a group of nearly 60 brought here in early November after a bloody massacre at their church in Baghdad. In that attack, believed to have been carried out by al Quaeda, 56 people died, including two auxiliary priests, and more than 70 were injured -- among them the parish priest of Our Lady of Salvation, Father Raphael Kuteimi.
Kuteimi was struck by grenade fragments during the attack, which went on for four hours. He was brought to France for medical treatment. The church did have some police protection, he says, but there are just too many threats against the Christian community.
Pierre Whalon, an Anglican bishop who helps bring the religiously persecuted to France, points out that no one takes note of threats to the Christian community until there is a major attack.
"There has been a Christian assassinated every single day since 2003. At least one," Whalon says. "You know, the news reports just get tired of it, because what's new? Another Christian or two or 10 murdered today in Mosul or Baghdad or elsewhere."
Whalon says the Christian community of Iraq, which numbered about 1.2 million before the war began, now is down to about 400,000, with many moving out under the threat of death. After the attack in October, the number of people on waiting lists seeking refuge in France swelled to more than 4,000.
No one wants to see such an ancient community disappear, says the bishop, least of all the refugees themselves -- but they have little choice.
That's certainly the feeling of "Elias," who wants to keep his real name secret because he still has family he is trying to bring out of Iraq. The former government bureaucrat was wounded in the church attack and says he heard the gunmen say they want to drive Christian infidels out of the country. The last thing he wanted to do, he says, is to leave his homeland.
"I am now in France, not my country," says Elias. "I have no job here. I had a very good job in Baghdad, a very good salary, my wife too, assistant professor. And now we will come here -- for what? But if we have no protection to keep ourselves away from them, we must leave, and that's why you see us here."
"I have memories. I have lots of feelings about Iraq, especially Baghdad," he continues, choking back tears. "So when I remember some of them I start to cry sometimes. I cry -- but what can we do? It's our destiny."
It's a destiny now being played out thousands of miles from his home.

Cristiani in Iraq: Glück (ZDK) la Germania "deve accogliere altri profughi"

By SIR

Il comitato centrale dei cattolici tedeschi (Zdk) ha rivolto ieri un appello al governo federale per accogliere in Germania un numero maggiore di cristiani iracheni.
“È vero che negli ultimi due anni, la Germania ha già ospitato 2.500 profughi. Ma in considerazione dei dati spaventosi, secondo cui 800.000 del 1,2 milione di cristiani ha lasciato l’Iraq, la Repubblica federale tedesca non può rifiutarsi di accogliere altri profughi”, si legge in una lettera del presidente, Alois Glück, diffusa ieri e indirizzata alla cancelliera Angela Merkel.
“I cristiani si trovano in situazioni di emergenza in tutto il mondo. Tanto più è importante che la Germania continui ad adoperarsi - ha affermato Glück - per la protezione delle persone coinvolte. La libertà di religione è un diritto umano primario e inalienabile”. Pertanto, ha proseguito il presidente dello Zdk, in considerazione degli attuali sviluppi “è importante e urgente che il governo federale metta il rispetto dei diritti delle minoranze religiose all’ordine del giorno della propria politica estera, per lo sviluppo e commerciale”. “Ciò vale”, ha concluso, “sia per i rapporti bilaterali della Germania che per i rapporti esterni dell’Ue con Stati terzi”.

Christians in Iraq: Glück (ZDK) Germany must "take more refugees"

By SIR

Yesterday, the Central Committee of German Catholics (Zdk) made an appeal to the Federal Government, asking Germany to take more Iraqi Christians.
“Of course, Germany has already taken 2,500 refugees. But, because of such frightful figures, that 800,000 to 1.2 million Christians have left Iraq, the German Federal Republic cannot refuse to take more refugees”, states a letter written by the president, Alois Glück, to Chancellor, which was disclosed yesterday.
“Christians are in a state of emergency all over the world. So, it is all the more important for Germany to keep striving – Glück stated – to protect the affected people. Freedom of religion is a primary and inalienable human right”. So, the president of Zdk went on, because of the current developments “it is important and urgent for the Federal Government to put the respect of the rights of religious minorities on the agenda of its foreign, development and trade policies”. “This applies”, he concluded, “to Germany’s bilateral relations as well as to the EU’s external relations with other countries”.

Boillon (ambasciatore francese in Iraq): "La Francia non vuole svuotare l'Iraq della sua componente cristiana"

By Baghdadhope*
fonte dea notizia: Uragency

Alla vigilia del suo trasferimento come nuovo ambasciatore francese in Tunisia in sostituzione di Pierre Ménat, Boris Boillon, dal luglio 2009 in carica a Baghdad, in una conferenza stampa del 30 gennaio sembra essersi levato alcuni sassolini dalle scarpe.
Parlando ai giornalisti Boillon ha sottolineato come non sia mai stata intenzione della Francia promuovere in alcun modo la migrazione dei cristiani dall'Iraq ma solo di permettere ai feriti ricoverati a seguito dell'attentato del 31 ottobre 2010 di rimanere nel paese che li ha accolti e curati per ragioni umanitarie.
I cristiani, ha aggiunto Boillon, "hanno un ruolo importante in tutti i campi" ma la Francia, "opera a favore dell'unità del popolo iracheno" per preservare "la diversità religiosa e culturale su cui si basa la stessa identità nazionale" e pur nella consapevolezza che il terrorismo "colpisce tutte le parti" chiede la sicurezza "per gli iracheni in genere e per i cristiani in particolare".
Parole queste che sembrano una risposta indiretta a quelle che ripetutamente si sono levate da parte della gerarchia ecclesiastica irachena che ha accusato la Germania e la Francia di favorire la sparizione dei cristiani dall'Iraq quando, all'indomani della strage della chiesa di Nostra Signora della Salvezza, avevano offerto rifugio ad un numero - limitato in entrambi i casi - di cristiani molti dei quali - è il caso dei ricoverati in Francia ma anche a Roma - da subito avevano espresso il desiderio di non fare ritorno in Iraq.

Ue, schiaffo all'Italia sulla difesa dei cristiani

By Repubblica
Niente menzione esplicita nel documento sulle persecuzioni religiose. E Frattini lo fa ritirare. Il ministro italiano "Questo laicismo esasperato è dannoso per la credibilità"
di Andrea Bonanni

Bruxelles: L'Italia non è riuscita a far menzionare esplicitamente le comunità cristiane tra le vittime delle persecuzioni nel comunicato dell'Unione europea che critica le violenze inter religiose in Medio Oriente. E alla fine il ministro degli esteri Franco Frattini, che si era particolarmente battuto per questo obiettivo, ha chiesto e ottenuto che il comunicato venisse ritirato. E' l'ennesimo schiaffo che il governo Berlusconi riceve dalla responsabile della politica estera della Ue, la britannica Catherine Ashton, subito dopo il rifiuto di intervenire sul Brasile per favorire l'estradizione di Battisti: una vicenda che Bruxelles ritiene confinata ai rapporti bilaterali tra Roma e Brasilia.
"Oggi è stata scritta una pagina non bella dal Consiglio Ue", ha dichiarato Frattini al termine della riunione dei ministri degli esteri della Ue. "L'Europa ha dimostrato ancora una volta che questo laicismo esasperato è certamente dannoso per la sua stessa credibilità". Parole che ricalcano quelle pronunciate ieri da Rino Fisichella, ministro vaticano "per la promozione della nuova evangelizzazione", secondo cui "Ormai si è convinti, con lady Ashton, che il nome 'cristianò non possa entrare in una risoluzione. Del resto 'nomen, omen': sempre di cenere si tratta", ha dichiarato l'alto prelato con un gioco di parole tra il nome Ashton e la parola "ash", che in inglese significa "cenere".
La vicenda parte dalla mobilitazione del governo italiano dopo l'attentato suicida contro i cristiani copti di Alessandria d'Egitto e altri episodi di violenze inter religiose che hanno colpito le comunità cristiane in Medio Oriente e in particolar modo in Iraq. Frattini si era battuto per avere una dura posizione di condanna da parte dell'Unione europea. Ma nella bozza di comunicato, messa a punto dal servizio diplomatico che fa capo alla Ashton, si parlava in modo generico di violenze contro "le comunità religiose", senza citare in modo specifico quelle cristiane.
Il ministro degli esteri italiano si era impegnato per far cambiare il testo, e domenica sera era venuto anticipatamente a Bruxelles per un incontro con i quindici ministri degli esteri che fanno capo al Partito Popolare europeo, di ispirazione democristiana. "Una larga maggioranza di paesi, sia per dimensioni sia per numero, aveva condiviso la mia proposta di emendamento, che era quella di menzionare gli attentati terroristici contro le comunità cristiane ed anche quelli contro la comunità sciita di Kerbala", ha riferito Frattini. Ma, poiché la Ashton non aveva modificato la propria proposta, l'emendamento italiano avrebbe potuto essere approvato solo all'unanimità. Al momento del voto, invece, almeno quattro paesi si sono detti contrari a modifiche:
Spagna, Portogallo, ma anche Lussemburgo e Irlanda, che hanno governi conservatori. A questo punto, in assenza di una esplicita citazione dei cristiani, Frattini ha ritenuto di chiedere il ritiro del documento di condanna delle violenze inter religiose, cosa che la Ashton ha accettato.

Surgem dois “sinais de esperança” no Iraque

By ZENIT terça-feira, 1º de fevereiro de 2011

Os projetos de construção de um hospital e de uma universidade se converteram em "sinais de esperança" para os cristãos iraquianos, ajudando-os a construir um futuro afastado da violência e da intimidação que obrigaram tantos fiéis a fugirem do país.
As duas iniciativas, segundo recorda Ajuda à Igreja que Sofre (AIS), ficarão em Ankawa, subúrbio da capital curda Erbil. Ontem, o governo regional garantiu a doação de dois terrenos para a construção das estruturas.
A área de 30 mil metros quadrados, destinada à universidade, está próxima da outra, de 8 mil metros quadrados, na qual será construído um hospital, com 100 leitos e 8 salas cirúrgicas.
No anúncio dos projetos de AIS, o arcebispo de Erbil, Dom Bashar Warda, afirmou que serão criados postos de trabalho, formação e outras oportunidades para milhares de cristãos que moram na região relativamente segura do Curdistão, já que está longe da violência que atinge Bagdá e Mossul.
"Os projetos que desenvolvemos nestes últimos meses são um sinal de esperança para a presença cristã no nosso país", disse o bispo, após um encontro com o comitê formado pelo clero e leigos para discutir as duas iniciativas.
Estes projetos, acrescentou, surgiram em resposta à crescente consciência do fato de que muitos cristãos que chegaram a esta região são profissionais qualificados, sobretudo no setor educativo e médico.
"As pessoas que chegam aqui, provenientes de regiões violentas, recebem o presente de uma relativa segurança - disse o arcebispo Warda. São elas mesmas que oferecem seus serviços em uma área que não pode assumir as exigências de uma população crescente."
Dessa maneira, serão evitados mais êxodos de cristãos do Iraque.
Ainda que o hospital e a universidade sejam dirigidos pela Igreja e pertençam à arquidiocese de Erbil, o bispo destacou que abrirão as portas a todos os que precisarem, independentemente das diferenças religiosas ou políticas.
Antes do início dos trabalhos de construção, acrescentou, será necessário realizar uma campanha para angariar fundos. Para isso, espera-se a generosidade dos governos ocidentais, das organizações caritativas e de outras ONGs.
Da mesma forma, foram pedidos conselhos e o apoio dos que dirigem projetos parecidos no Oriente Médio, como a Universidade do Espírito Santo, em Kaslik (Líbano), fundada pelos católicos maronitas em 1961.
"Se tudo acontecer como está previsto - concluiu -, o hospital e a universidade poderiam abrir suas portas em dois anos."

En Iraq surgirán dos “símbolos de esperanza”

By ZENIT

Los proyectos de construcción de un hospital y una universidad se han convertido en “símbolos de esperanza” para los cristianos iraquíes, ayudándoles a construir un futuro alejado de la violencia y de la intimidación que han obligado a tantos fieles a huir del país.

Las dos iniciativas, recuerda la asociación caritativa internacional Ayuda a la Iglesia Necesitada (AIN), tomarán forma en Ankawa, suburbio de la capital kurda Erbil. Este lunes, el Gobierno regional garantizó la donación de dos terrenos sobre los cuales construir las nuevas estructuras.
La zona de 30.000 metros cuadrados destinada a la universidad está cerca de la otra de 8.000 en la que se construirá el hospital, que tendrá 100 camas y 8 salas quirúrgicas.
En el anuncio de los dos proyectos a la AIN, el arzobispo de Erbil, monseñor Bashar Warda, afirmó que se crearán puestos de trabajo, formación y otras oportunidades para miles de cristianos que habitan en la zona relativamente segura que es el Kurdistán, ya que está lejos de la violencia que golpea a Bagdad y Mosul.
“Los proyectos que hemos desarrollado estos últimos meses son un símbolo de esperanza para la presencia cristiana en nuestro país”, dijo el obispo tras un encuentro con el comité formado por el clero y laicos para discutir las dos iniciativas.
Estos proyectos, añadió, surgieron en respuesta a la creciente consciencia del hecho de que muchos cristianos que han llegado a esta región son, muchos de ellos, profesionales cualificados, sobre todo del sector educativo y médico.
“La gente que llega aquí de zonas violentas recibe el regalo de una relativa seguridad”, dijo el arzobispo Warda. “Son ellos mismos los que ofrecen sus servicios en una zona que no puede asumir las exigencias de una población creciente”.
De esta manera, se evitarán más éxodos de cristianos de Iraq.
Aunque el hospital y la universidad serán gestionados por la Iglesia y propiedad de la archidiócesis de Erbil, el obispo ha destacado que se les abrirán las puertas a todos los que lo pidan, independientemente de las diferencias religiosas y políticas.
Antes de que se inicien los trabajos de construcción, añadió, será necesaria realizar una campaña para recoger fondos. Para esto, se espera la generosidad de los gobiernos occidentales, de las organizaciones caritativas y de otras ONG.
Del mismo modo ha pedido los consejos y el apoyo por parte de los que gestionan proyectos parecidos por Oriente Medio, como la Universidad del Espíritu Santo en Kaslik, Líbano, fundada por los católicos maronitas en 1961.

"Si todo sucede como está previsto”, concluyó, el hospital y la universidad podrían abrir sus puertas en dos años.

In Iraq sorgeranno due “simboli di speranza”

By ZENIT

I progetti per la costruzione di un ospedale e di un'università vogliono essere “simboli di speranza” per i cristiani iracheni, aiutandoli a costruirsi un futuro lontano dalla violenza e dalle intimidazioni che hanno costretto tanti fedeli a fuggire dal Paese.

Le due iniziative, ricorda l'associazione caritativa internazionale Aiuto alla Chiesa che Soffre (ACS), sorgeranno ad Ankawa, un sobborgo del capoluogo curdo Erbil. Questo lunedì, il Governo regionale ha garantito il dono di due appezzamenti di terreno su cui costruire le strutture.
Il sito di 30.000 metri quadri per l'università è vicino al lotto di 8.000 metri quadri destinato a ospitare l'ospedale, che avrà 100 posti letto e 8 sale operatorie.
Annunciando i due progetti ad ACS, l'Arcivescovo Bashar Warda di Erbil ha affermato che forniranno posti di lavoro, formazione e altre opportunità a migliaia di cristiani che si riversano nel relativamente sicuro Kurdistan, lontano dalla violenza religiosa che colpisce soprattutto Baghdad e Mosul.
“I progetti che abbiamo sviluppato negli ultimi mesi sono simboli di speranza per la presenza cristiana nel nostro Paese”, ha detto il presule dopo un incontro del comitato di clero e laici per discutere delle due iniziative.
Il progetto di realizzarle, ha aggiunto, è emerso in risposta alla crescente consapevolezza del fatto che tra i tanti cristiani affluiti nella zona ci sono molte persone con qualifiche professionali, soprattutto nel settore dell'istruzione e in quello medico.
“La gente che arriva qui da zone violente riceve il dono di una relativa sicurezza”, ha detto l'Arcivescovo Warda. “Sono loro stessi a voler offrire i propri servizi in una zona che non può far fronte alle richieste di una popolazione crescente”.
In questo modo, si scoraggerà anche un ulteriore esodo di cristiani dall'Iraq.
Anche se sia l'ospedale che l'università saranno gestiti dalla Chiesa e di proprietà dell'Arcidiocesi di Erbil, il presule ha sottolineato che apriranno le proprie porte a chiunque, indipendentemente dalle differenze religiose e politiche.
Prima che i lavori di costruzione possano iniziare, ha aggiunto, sarà necessaria una campagna di raccolta fondi. Per questo, spera nella generosità dei Governi occidentali, delle organizzazioni caritative e di altre ONG.
Allo stesso modo, ha aggiunto di confidare in consigli e sostegno da parte di chi gestisce progetti simili ovunque in Medio Oriente, come l'Università dello Spirito Santo a Kaslik, in Libano, fondata dai cattolici maroniti nel 1961.
Se tutto andrò come previsto, ha concluso, l'ospedale e l'università potrebbero aprire tra due anni.

Vescovo di Baghdad in visita a Clusone

By Antenna 2 TV in YouTube

Iraq: Two ‘symbols of hope’ - Christian-run hospital and university planned for northern Iraq

By Aid to the Church in Need

by John Pontifex

Fresh plans for a university and a hospital in northern Iraq are intended as “symbols of hope” enabling Christians to build a future away from the violence and intimidation that have caused so many to flee the country.
The two initiatives planned for Ankawa, a suburb of the Kurdish capital, Erbil, passed a crucial hurdle yesterday (Mon, 31st Jan) when the regional government guaranteed a gift of two pieces of land on which to build both structures.
The 30,000-square-metre site allocated for the university is close to an 8,000-square-metre plot set aside for the 100-bed hospital complete with eight operating theatres and a medical wing.
Announcing the plans to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil said both schemes would provide jobs, training and other opportunities for thousands of Christians flooding into the relative security of Kurdistan, away from the religious violence, especially in Baghdad and Mosul.
Speaking after a committee of faithful and clergy met to advance the schemes, Archbishop Warda said: “The plans we have been developing over the past few months are symbols of hope for the Christian presence in our country.”
He went on to explain how both initiatives emerged in response to a growing realisation that the influx of Christians into the area included many highly-skilled professionals with expertise in education and medicine.
Speaking from Erbil, Archbishop Warda told ACN: “The people arriving here from places of violence are receiving the gift of relative security. “They themselves are willing to offer the gift of their services in a region which cannot cope with the demands of an increasing population.”
Although both the hospital and the university will be Church-run and owned by the Archdiocese of Erbil, Archbishop Warda stressed that both would open their doors to all people irrespective of religious and political differences.
Archbishop Warda said that before building work could begin, a fund-raising campaign was necessary.
He said he hoped governments in the West as well as charities and other NGOs would be generous.
The archbishop also said he hoped to receive advice and support for similar schemes elsewhere in the Middle East such as the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, in Lebanon, founded by Maronite Catholics in 1961.
He added that if the plans went to schedule the two institutions could open within two years.
The archbishop went on to stress that a key factor behind both projects was to provide jobs and other opportunities thereby discouraging the Christian exodus from a country whose faithful have plummeted from more than 800,000 to barely 200,000 within a decade.
He said: “We do not want Christians to leave Iraq. It is clear that our society here needs schools, universities and hospitals and this provides us with an opportunity to encourage the Christians to build a future for themselves here.”
Successive waves of killings, kidnappings and other violence have forced vast numbers of Christians to flee Baghdad and Mosul, seeking sanctuary especially in the north under the control of the Kurdish Regional Government, which is now one of the only parts of Iraq largely untouched by violence against minorities.
The latest wave of new arrivals came after the 31st October 2010 massacre in Baghdad’s Syrian Catholic Cathedral where 58 people died and more than 70 were injured.
Archbishop Warda said Christians coming into his diocese included 2,000 from as far away as Basra in the south.
Iraq is a priority country for project support from Aid to the Church in Need.
ACN is providing emergency help for Iraqi Christian refugees in the north of the country and neighbouring countries as well as key aid for seminarians, Sisters and Mass offerings for priests.