Monthly Archives: February 2009

By The Associated Press A list of the division of seats on local councils in 14 of Iraq’s 18 provinces according to final results from elections announced Thursday: ANBAR (29 seats) Awakening of Iraq and Independents, Sheik Ahmed Abu Risha, Sunni — 8…

By Karim Hilmi, NBC News BAGHDAD — Concrete blast walls and armed paramilitaries carrying AK-47 assault rifles still guard the street leading to Baghdad’s Virgin Mary Cathedral. But despite the danger that comes with being a Christian in Iraq, Father Azeria Warda Benyameen refuses to accept any bodyguards.…

BAGHDAD, (UPI) — An Iraqi in charge of refugee affairs criticized German statements calling for the resettlement of Christians following a visit by the German foreign minister. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble called on European nations in April…

The Christian Post reports that Iraqi church leaders at a meeting in Lebanon last week said Iraqi Christians should not be encouraged to migrate, but remain in their homeland with an aim toward rebuilding it. “The solution to current conditions lies not in emptying Iraq of its human resources,” said the church leaders. The February…

Some of the Iraqi Christians who fled from Mosul to escape anti-Christian violence there are now beginning to return, the AsiaNews service reports. City officials say that 81 families have moved back to Mosul, although another 10,000 remain at a refugee camp east of the city, and many more have left Iraq entirely. The returning…

by Daniel Blake The German interior minister has been criticised by an Iraqi official for encouraging EU countries to offer refugee status to Iraqi Christians. Wolfgang Schaeuble made an urgent request in April 2008 for Christians to be offered…

Beirut (ENI). A group of Christians meeting in Lebanon have declared that people of their faith have belonged to Iraq since the nation’s birth and that they are not just a minority but an essential part of Iraqi society and deeply rooted in its history and civilisation.…

Wolfgang Schaeuble An Iraqi official has criticized the German interior minister for encouraging European countries to offer refugee status to members of the Iraqi Christian community. In April 2008, German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble made an urgent request…

Representatives of churches in Iraq confirmed their commitment to work together with all Iraqi citizens for reconciliation and rebuilding peace in the country. “The solution to current conditions lies not in emptying Iraq of its human resources,” said the participants at a 10-11 February meeting in Dar Sayedat Al Jabal, Fatka, Lebanon. The meeting was…

BEIRUT, Lebanon,(UPI) — Church leaders from Iraq met in Lebanon to discuss their commitment to playing an active role in the redevelopment of their country. Archbishops Louis Sako of the Chaldean Church in Kirkuk, Basilios Georges Casmoussa of the Syrian Catholic Church in Mosul and Elder Yussef al-Saka of the…

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) CERES, Calif. — Emil Adam knew he’d have eight months in the United States to find work before he’d lose the benefits he’s entitled to as an Iraqi war refugee. That timeline seemed inconsequential to the 51-year-old physician when he prepared for the journey in Lebanon last year.…

From “WCC Media” World Council of Churches – News Release CHRISTIANS HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN REBUILDING IRAQ, CHURCH LEADERS SAY Representatives of churches in Iraq confirmed their commitment to work together with all Iraqi citizens for reconciliation and rebuilding peace in the country.…

Mar Ignace Yousseff III Younan, the new leader of Syriac-rite Catholics, stressed the value of unity within diversity. Pope Benedict speaks of him as a sower of peace. Since February 14, the heavy burden of the Syriac Catholic Patriarchate has been on the shoulders of Mar Ignace Youssef III Younan after his consecration and enthronement…

Posted By: George Pitcher at Feb Posted in: UK Correspondents , Politics , Faithbook , Religion Tags:View More Andrew White, anglicans, Iraq, Muslims, Saddam Hussein, The Vicar of Baghdad The Vicar of Baghdad has just dropped by the offices of the Telegraph for a hot…

by Fady Noun Mar Ignace Youssef III Younan stresses the value of unity within diversity, something which enriches the Church. He thanks his “spiritual father,” Card Theodore McCarrick, archbishop emeritus of Washington. Benedict XVI urges the new patriarch to be a “sower of peace.”…

Iraq’s Assyrian Christians To outside observers, the provincial elections recently held in Iraq were strictly a domestic affair, with internal groups vying for relative influence. For the Assyrian Christians of Iraq, however, the elections signified a desperate appeal to the international community.…

The election of President Barack Obama, signals an important change in America’s Iraq policy. It is time to end this war. We are withdrawing our forces from Iraq, first leaving the towns and cities this coming June, and then moving out of the country entirely by the summer of 2010 [in line with the President’s…

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says no power or threat can prevent the Iranian nation from making progress in different areas. “The Iranian nation has not exposed all its capabilities as yet and what we see now is only part of it,” bereaved families of religious minorities’ martyrs.…

Syriac theatre director Georges Hawell aims through his play “Bride and Peace” which plays in Arbil, Kurdistan to unify Iraqi Christians. The director explains that the play’s idea came up in the wake of Iraq strenuous developments including forced displacement. The director relates in his play a humanitarian message seeking Christians’ unity.…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA ADVISORY Catholic PRWire Demonstrations to Save Orthodox Monastery of Mor Gabriël Source: http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=31821&cb300=vocations WORLDPRESS RELEASE: SYRIAC-ORTHODOX MONASTERY IN TURKEY COURT PROCEEDING STATUS!…