Monthly Archives: November 2018

World waits for Iraqi leadership to turn over a new leaf

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By Arnab Neil Sengupta Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi (L) and President Barham Salih (R) in the parliament building in Baghdad. File photo: Karim Kadim / AP Call it destiny or fate, some unseen force seems to be pulling Iraq in the right direction. At least that’s the impression one gets from a distance. A…

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Leader of Iraqi Shia group urges formal border security role for Shia fighters

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HomeMiddle EastIraq Qais al-Khazali, leader of Iraq’s paramilitary group, the Asaib Ahl al-Haq The head of a powerful Shia group in Iraq says Shia paramilitaries in the Arab country should have a formal role in securing the border with Syria and defend the Iraqi people against terror outfits, particularly the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.…

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Iraqi Christians who fled IS return to find properties seized

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By Eno Adeogun A new report has found that hundreds of Iraqi Christians who fled the Islamic State (ISIS) invasion across the country in 2014 have returned to discover their properties have been illegally seized. At least 350 Christian-owned properties were occupied by Iraqi officials according to an…

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Judge Releases Over 100 Iraqi Christians Detained by ICE

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Chaldeans in Detroit celebrate the coming return of scores of community members facing deportation. Kate Shellnutt Image: Rebecca Cook / Reuters Family members rally outside Mother of God Chaldean Church in Southfield, Michigan. About 130 Iraqi Christians detained last year and slated for deportation will be back home with their families in Detroit for Christmas.…

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Christmas in Iraq—What Does Hope Look Like?

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by Fr. David Linder The following is an adaptation of the homily at our Christmas Vigil Mass last year. Thousands of Christians in Iraq and other countries continue to suffer and work under the conditions described in this article. Three days ago I was reading one of the Catholic newspapers we receive, the National…

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Even in exile, Syriac Orthodox Christians remain divided

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Filipe D’Avillez It is cold and gloomy when I ask one of the Syriac Orthodox youths in the Swedish city of Södertälje to describe to me what the past year has been like. “Dark, very dark,” he replies. But he is not referring to the severe persecution of his people ­– a Christian ethnic group…

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Inside the court of Ashurbanipal, king of the world

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At its peak, the Assyrian empire was the biggest on the planet Samuel Reilly In one of the most memorable scenes in “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, the world’s oldest epic, the eponymous hero confronts Humbaba, a monster who guards the Cedar…

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Iraq: Hundreds of Christian homes stolen

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Iraq, Baghdad, Kirkuk, Defaced church in Qaraqosh At least 350 homes belonging to Christians who fled IS/Daish have been illegally occupied by new residents, taking advantage of their absence and using false legal…

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Mar Thoma Church marks 50 years in Dubai

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Year-long activities lined up as part of golden jubilee celebrations Shafaat Shahbandari, Staff Reporter Shaikh Nahayan and Rev Joseph Mar Barnabas being welcomed by the congregation at the Mar Thoma Church. Image Credit: Atiq Ur Rehman/Gulf News…

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Damascus archbishop describes Syrian Catholics’ plight

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Matthew Davis Archbishop Samir Nassar of Damascus talks about the plight of Christians in Syria during a presentation Nov. 15 at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Dave Hrbacek / The Catholic Spirit On Jan. 8, a bomb exploded in the bedroom of Archbishop Samir Nassar, who leads…

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Hundreds of Christian-owned homes taken over in Nineveh Plain

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Mgr Warduni, auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, warns that the problem is “real and serious”. The government has so far stopped 50 sham sales, but at least 350 transactions are involved. The Catholic Church has tried to help in getting properties returned but it faces with “powerful people”.…

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Iraqi prelate promotes ‘spirituality of exile and return’

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CWN Editor’s Note: Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako has suggested that Iraqi Christians look to the Old Testament for support of a “theology of departure and return,” as they seek to rebuild communities in the Nineveh Valley that were overrun by the Islamic State. The Patriarch said that Christians who are now returning,…

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