Monthly Archives: December 2016

Mideast Christians, especially those displaced, face mounting challenges

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Dale Gavlak CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE A displaced Iraqi child walks outside tents December 9 at the Hassan Sham camp near Mosul. (Credit: CNS/Reuters.) For Christians in the Middle East looking back on 2016, the picture is grim: with mounting challenges especially in Iraq and Syria. Thousands of Iraqi Christians had to…

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By Rudaw Iraqi Christians celebrating their first Christmas in the town of Hamdaniya outside Mosul for the first time in two years since the ISIS takeover of Mosul. Photo by Hejar Jawhar/Rudaw Iraqi Christians celebrating their first Christmas in the town of Hamdaniya outside Mosul…

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Christmas Greetings 2017

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Yesterday, the Christian world celebrated the yearly commemoration of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ in a manger in Bethlehem, more than two millennia ago. It was a humble birth for He who was to be the Saviour of all humankind, God the son, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. Soon…

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Female Iraqi journalist kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad

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Iraqi Christians walk to attend a Christmas Eve service at the Mar Shimoni church in the town of Bartalla near Mosul on December 24, 2016 for the first time since its recapture from Daesh. (AFP/Safin Hamed) A female Iraqi reporter was kidnapped Monday after gunmen posing as security forces broke into her home in Baghdad,…

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Fearful Christmas in Baghdad after attacks on Christians

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An Iraqi Christian woman prays during a mass on Christmas at St. Joseph Chaldean church in Baghdad, Iraq December 25, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani Christians in Baghdad celebrated Christmas on Sunday in a heightened state of fear after deadly attacks on Christian-owned shops that sell alcohol.…

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Chaldean refugees celebrate first Christmas in ‘freedom’

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“Convert, flee or die”: that was the ultimatum given to Chaldean Catholics in northern Iraq by Islamic State militants as they overran their towns in 2014. In August 2014, the militants came to Nagham al-Katta’s village in Karemlash, south-east of Mosul, forcing her family to flee, leaving behind their home, all their possessions…

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Iraqi Christians celebrate Christmas in Irbil

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By Hugh Sykes BBC News, Irbil A consecration mass was conducted in Chaldean, a language related to Aramaic “When you treat a cancer, you have to use unfortunate measures,” said Bashar Warda, Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Irbil, when I asked him if it was right to kill members of the so-called Islamic State (IS).…

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Catholic church targeted in Christmas Eve blast in Philippines

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Manila: Sixteen people have been wounded in a grenade explosion outside a Catholic church during a Christmas Eve mass on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, according to local police and a priest. Bernardo Tayong, Midsayap town police chief, said most of the injured had been…

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With ISIS Gone, Iraqi Christians Celebrate Christmas

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Celebrating Christmas for the first time since 2013, several hundred Iraqi Christians flocked on Saturday to a northern town recently retaken from Islamic State. Their joy was tainted with sadness over the desecration of their church. Expressing their joy at returning to the place where many of them said they had been…

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Iraq patriarch urges protection for displaced Christians

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Baghdad (AFP) – The patriarch of Iraq’s Chaldean Catholic Church has appealed for international protection to help Iraqi Christians displaced by war return to their homes. Tens of thousands of Christians fled northern Iraqi towns in 2014 as the Islamic State group seized second city Mosul and swathes of the surrounding Nineveh province.…

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Survivors need security

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By Geoffrey Johnston Displaced Iraqis from the embattled city of Mosul are seen buying and selling items at a camp for internally displaced persons near the village of Nahia north of al-Qayyarah on Dec. 16. (Al-Samarraia/AFP/Getty Images) The Islamic State has deliberately and systematically targeted religious and ethnic…

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For Iraq’s Christians, Christmas cheer tinged with despair

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By HAMZA HENDAWI Associated Press Updated Dec 23, 2016 (0) IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The Nativity scene and Christmas tree are in place on the corner of the street. Some of the children proudly wear red Santa Claus hats or show off new toys, mostly plastic guns for small boys. Windows and balconies are festooned…

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Iraq’s Muslims celebrate Christmas in solidarity with Christians

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A giant Christmas tree stands outside the Sama mall in Baghdad, Iraq, Dec. 20, 2016. (photo by Ammar Alsawad) BAGHDAD — With every year, Christmas in Baghdad is marked with more festivities than the year before. Is this merely a celebration of joy or a deep expression of solidarity with the threatened Christian minority?…

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Will the pope finally visit Iraq once IS is defeated?

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Pope Francis arrives to lead his Wednesday general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, Dec. 14, 2016. (photo by REUTERS/Tony Gentile) BAGHDAD — During his visit to the Vatican on Dec. 3, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari invited Pope Francis to visit Iraq, noting that the best time to visit would be once…

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