The Iraqi Catholic community feels unsettled after Iran launched ballistic missiles, striking upscale neighborhoods of Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, signaling the latest spate of violence targeting northern Iraq.
Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed it targeted a spy base for
Father Emanuel Youkhana, a priest, or archimandrite, of the Assyrian Church of the East, who aids Christians and other Iraqi minorities in the Nineveh Plain region, said in a message sent to OSV News, "Joy turned into a major disaster for the
Over the past two weeks, Katherine Jean Lopez had the honor of spending some extended time with Archbishop Bashar Warda of Irbil, Iraq. Compared to other countries, like Sudan and Nigeria, to which Americans often turn a blind eye regarding Christian persecution,
Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Cardinal Louis Sako has left his patriarchal residence in the capital, Baghdad, relocating to a monastery in the northern Kurdistan region after the president of Iraq recently revoked a decree that formally recognized him as Chaldean patriarch in the
From the devastating war in 2003 to the three-year occupation of Mosul by Islamic State militants, Iraq is often portrayed as a land caught in a spiral of violence and perennially doomed to remain in a state of instability.
However, for Dominican Father
After a series of deadly clashes erupted in Iraq, Pope Francis said "dialogue and fraternity" were needed to overcome the current situation and to become a nation of diverse communities living in peace.
The pope said he was following the news of "violent
Christians once again filled the streets of Qaraqosh for Palm Sunday: Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, visiting from Beirut, led the procession of more than 20,000 people.
The celebration was a stark contrast to Patriarch Younan's first visit there in November
Christians have a right to remain in Iraq and the obligation to contribute to the country's growth and recovery, which will require collaboration among the churches and a commitment to interreligious dialogue, Pope Francis said.
A group of Iraqi Christian leaders came to
Walking through this mainly Christian town outside of Irbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, it's easy to see many changes since the victims of Islamic State militants fled here for safety seven years ago.
Gone are the tents and caravans that dotted church
Pope Francis condemned a drone attack on the Iraqi prime minister's residence as a "vile act of terrorism" and expressed his hope that all people in the country would pursue peace through dialogue.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, conveyed the pope's