Pope expresses concern about recent terror attacks against Iraqi Christians

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II expressed his concern for Christians in Iraq after terrorists made fresh attacks on two Christian sites in the northern city of Mosul.

After praying the Angelus to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square Dec. 8, the pope conveyed his "spiritual closeness to the faithful, shaken by the attack."

An Armenian Catholic church and the Chaldean Catholic bishop's residence were destroyed Dec. 7 in two separate bomb attacks in Mosul.

The pope prayed for the intercession of the Virgin Mary to help "the beloved Iraqi people" experience "a time of reconciliation and peace."

In Mosul, an armed group of commandos stormed the Armenian Catholic church at 2:30 p.m. Witnesses said the attackers ushered everyone out of the church, then detonated two bombs, leaving the church in ruins.

About two hours later, another group of armed men attacked the Chaldean bishop's residence in another part of the city. The men ordered people in the building out before setting off explosives, which engulfed the residence in flames.

No one was killed or injured in the two attacks, according to news reports.

Chaldean Patriarch Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad lamented the fresh violence and warned that local Christians were becoming "increasingly worried that they will be targets of such acts of violence."

"Christians are worried about this kind of violence happening over and over again," he said in a Dec. 7 interview with Asianews, an Italian-based missionary news agency. He said the "Iraqi government is impotent to prevent such acts."

"I hope Our Lady will give us the courage to continue on our path," he said.

Numerous Christian sites, especially churches, have been the targets of terrorist bombings in Iraq.

As a result, Christians have fled Iraq by the thousands over the last three months, usually driving to Syria or Jordan. The exact number of those who have left is unknown, but Syrian media say up to 70,000 Iraqi Christians now live in Syria.

The apostolic nuncio to Baghdad called the Dec. 7 bombings "grave and cowardly acts against defenseless Christian symbols and institutions."

Speaking to Asianews, the nuncio, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, said the Chaldean bishop's residence"had been receiving threats for some time."

The nuncio said terrorists had promised "they would destroy a church for every mosque that was attacked" by U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

Behind these assaults against Christians lies "an exasperated violence that strikes those who are defenseless," he said.

The archbishop told Asianews he did not believe there was a link between the Dec. 7 bombings and the season of Advent. He said he thought the attackers "just want to do harm."

The destroyed Armenian church in Mosul had been in the final stages of construction. It was to be officially consecrated Christmas Day.

Reducing the new church to rubble shows "how little respect terrorists have for people and holy places," Archbishop Filoni said.