Monthly Archives: March 2015

Lebanon’s religious leaders affirm Christianity’s role in Middle East

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By Doreen Abi Raad Catholic News Service Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim religious leaders meet for an interfaith summit in Bkerke, Lebanon, March 30. (CNS photo/Mychel Akl) BEIRUT (CNS) — Lebanon’s Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim religious leaders affirmed the “essential role” of the Christian presence in the Middle East and called for terrorism…

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The New Exodus: Christians Flee ISIS in the Middle East

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BY JANINE DI GIOVANNI AND CONOR GAFFEY FILED UNDER: World, Middle East, Middle East Christians, Islamic State, ISIS, Assyrian, Coptic Christians, Religion, Freedom of Religion Before jihadists overran this mountain town in 2013, Maaloula was one of the oldest Christian communities in Syria, where Western Aramaic—the language of Jesus…

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Syrian Christian refugees feel fortunate to have fled Islamic State

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Syria’s Assyrian Christians in Iraq Members of the Jumaa family, from left, in Sheikhan, Iraq: sisters Sanaa and Asmar; their mother, Sittu Adam Qaysar; grandmother Esther Zaya Hormez; and their father, Kenyas. (Liliana Nieto del Rio / For The Times) By PATRICK J. MCDONNELL contact the reporter…

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Papal delegation brings aid and comfort to Iraqi refugees

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Islamic State has displaced tens of thousands of Christians in the region A young Iraqi boy at the Sharia Refugee Camp in Dohuk, Iraq. (Photo by Daniel Ibanez) Andrea Gagliarducci for Catholic News Service, Erbil Hoping to awaken the world conscience on Iraq, a Pontifical delegation traveled to Erbil…

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‘A secure Iraq won’t come from a military solution’

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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for assistance to help more than 2.5 million Iraqis displaced by violence. Renad Mansour says the solution to Iraq’s woes must involve strong political leadership. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Iraqi government officials…

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Check out 10 photos of how the start of Holy Week was celebrated around the world

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Here are 10 photos from around the world showing how this year’s preparation for the Holy Week began Mideast Lebanon Assyrian Palm Sunday: Syrian Assyrian Christian girls, hold their candles as they celebrate the traditional Palm Sunday procession outside the Assyrian church east of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, March 29, 2015. In late February, the Islamic…

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THE SECRETARY-GENERAL

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Baghdad, 30 March 2015 As-salam Alaikum. Good afternoon. Shukran Jazilan, I want to thank Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for his welcome and for his leadership. It is a great pleasure for me to be back in Iraq once again. We have just concluded a very productive meeting, which was preceded by fruitful…

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Hassan Rohani, President of the Republic of Iran, is acknowledged as a reformer. Many even believe he will open his country. But since his accession to office the number of execution and the amount of human rights abuses has increase instead.

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30.03. 2015 By Dr. Kamal Sido* Back in August 2013, when Hassan Rohani was elected as the new President of Iran, people believed that the situation of human rights in the country will improve now. It was like a sigh of relief. But today, two years of Rohani’s reign, it is obvious that hope is…

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Assyrian patriarch dies; was promoter of unity, served for 39 years

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By Catholic News Service Catholicos Dinkha IV, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, is greeted by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. Patriarch Dinkha died March 26 at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. (CNS photo/L’Osservatore Romano via Reuters) CHICAGO (CNS) — Catholicos Dinkha IV, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East,…

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Pope’s delegation offers comfort, communion to Iraqi refugees

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A young child at the Sharia Refugee Camp in Dohuk, Iraq. Credit: Daniel Ibanez. By Andrea Gagliarducci Erbil, Iraq, Mar 28, 2015 / 06:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Hoping to awaken the world conscience on Iraq, a Pontifical delegation traveled to Erbil and Dohuk to foster local communion and shed light on the dramatic plight of…

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French FM warns Middle East minorities could ‘disappear entirely’

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United Nations (United States) (AFP) – Christians, Yazidis and other religious minorities under attack in the Middle East could “disappear entirely” unless the world takes action to protect them, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said Friday. Fabius told a UN Security Council debate that an “action charter” was needed to…

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A Kurdish involvement for Mosul is not in vain

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AFP file photo of Kurdish forces at a base northwest of Mosul. By Polla Garmiany As the war with the so-called Islamic State continues, there are Kurdish voices demanding that the Peshmerga forces stay out of an upcoming fight for the city of Mosul due to its allegedly Arab character.…

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A sweet sign of hope: Pope’s envoy returns to Iraq with Easter cake

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by CNA Daily News Vatican City, Mar 29, 2015 / 06:32 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis’ personal envoy to Iraq will return to the country during Holy Week, bringing with him the pontiff’s love and solidarity along with a special gift from the diocese of Rome: cake. “During Holy Week, which is now close, these…

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Bill would help Christians in Iraq threatened by Islamic State

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Two Chaldean Christian women, among the estimated 30,000 Christians who have fled Iraq and Syria because of Islamic State violence, wait in Lebanon for help. (NABIL MOUNZER / EPA) By TONY PERRY contact the reporter Two San Diego area congressmen are among the sponsors of a bill to rescue members…

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Iraq hopes to eradicate Daesh within year: President

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“Our people waits for all forms of support from our Arab brothers,” the Iraqi President said. Iraqi President Fuad Masum said on Saturday that his country had hopes to eradicate the militant group Daesh within a year. Addressing the 26th Arab summit in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Masum…

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