Monthly Archives: December 2016

By Catholic News Service BEIRUT (CNS) — The Syriac Catholic patriarch said he was horrified to see widespread devastation and what he called “ghost towns” during a recent visit to northern Iraq. Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan wrote in an email to Catholic News Service that there was little left in some of the communities…

A displaced Iraqi child walks outside tents Dec. 9 at the Hassan Sham camp near Mosul. CNS photo/Ahmed Jadallah, Reuters By Dale Gavlak, Catholic News Service WASHINGTON – As Christians in the Middle East look back on 2016, they wonder if there will be much to celebrate amid mounting challenges, particularly for those…

A Christian woman inspects a home in Bartella, Iraq, after it was liberated from Islamic State militants. Photo: CNS Doreen Abi Raad The Syriac Catholic patriarch said he was horrified to see widespread devastation and what he called “ghost towns” during a recent visit to northern Iraq.…

Iraqi Christians take part in a Nov. 19 procession to erect a new cross over a church, after the original cross was destroyed by Islamic State militants in the town of Bartella, Iraq, near Mosul. (CNS photo/Azad Lashkari, Reuters By Matthew Gambino, Catholic News Service…

Three of the 12 speakers at a Dec. 5-6 conference at Villanova University discuss Christians and religious minorities in the Middle East during a panel forum. (Photo by Villanova University) By Matthew Gambino • Posted December 8, 2016…

El Cajon City CouncilBen KalashoBob McClellanSteve Goble By Jonathan Goetz Photos: Ben Kalasho, Steve Goble and Bob McClellan December 6, 2016 (El Cajon) — Challengers Steve Goble and Ben Kalasho have won seats on the El Cajon City Council, and will be joining Bob McClellan, who won reelection. The swearing-in ceremony will be held on…

By Oscar Durand Catholic News Service ISTANBUL – Sami Dankha, his three brothers and their families used to kick off Christmas celebrations by attending a packed Christmas Eve Mass at St. Thomas Church in Baghdad. Wearing brand new clothes and sporting fresh haircuts, they would…

By Margherita Stancati and Ali A. Nabhan | Photos by Juan Carlos for The Wall Street Journal QARAQOSH, Iraq—Two years ago, Mubarak Tuwaya fled when Islamic State militants made a triumphant charge through northern Iraq. Now he is back in his hometown, wearing the uniform of an Iraqi militia that is helping…

By Carl Anderson and Most. Rev. Bashar Warda, contributors – Though it was never intentional, Christians in Iraq have suffered from U.S. action — and inaction — there, and the few who still remain represent a sort of living “collateral damage.” During the 2003 invasion, Iraqi Christians were often simultaneously viewed as Iraqis by…

Fairuz Rassam, a long-time Chicago resident, sent for her Iraqi sisters, Firaz and Victoria, so they could escape the conflict in Iraq. They are seen at Mass Dec. 4 at St. Ephrem Chaldean Catholic Church in Chicago. (CNS photo/Simone Orendain) By Simone Orendain • Catholic News Service • CHICAGO (CNS) — On a recent overcast…

Asylum SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty by Donna Rachel Edmunds5 Dec 201636 Two Syriac Orthodox archbishops have been denied visas to visit the UK for a ceremony being attended by the Prince of Wales, as Home Office officials said they may try to claim asylum.…

By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter raqi and Syrian Christian communities in Michigan with connections to persecuted populations in the Middle East reportedly helped President-elect Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in November’s elections because of fears of the Islamic State terror group, and the latter’s pro-abortion stance.…

mark-woods Mark Woods Christian Today Contributing Editor 05 December 2016 The Prince of Wales attended the consecration of the new St Thomas Cathedral Syriac Orthodox Church in London with Archbishop Ignatius Aphrem II Karim and 600 members of the congregation.Clarence House/Instagram…

By Reuters By Stephen Kalin | KHIDIR ILYAS, Iraq KHIDIR ILYAS, Iraq The history pages of Iraq’s Christian community lie in charred fragments on the floor of a fourth-century monastery near Mosul which Islamic State militants ransacked during a two-year occupation that ended over the weekend.The jihadists at the Mar Behnam monastery burned a collection…

By Reuters By Ulf Laessing BARTELLA, Iraq A damaged picture of Jesus and a CD from his daughter’s wedding were pretty much all Iraqi Christian Said Shaba found when he returned to the ransacked house he had to flee when Islamic State arrived two and a half years…

By Doreen Abi Raad Catholic News Service CNS photo/Thaier Al-Sudani, Reuters People return to their village near Mosul, Iraq, after it was liberated from Islamic State militants Oct. 21. (CNS photo/Thaier Al-Sudani, Reuters) See IRAQ-YOUNAN-GHOST-TOWNS Dec. 2, 2016.…

The evidence shows that Christian communities were key to making Donald Trump the next president of the United States. Victor Gaetan Chaldean Catholics In Michigan’s final count, announced last week, Donald J. Trump won by a mere 10,704…

Doreen Abi Raad CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE Displaced Iraqis ride in a truck December 1 as they flee the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul. (Credit: CNS photo/Mohammed Salem, Reuters.) Visiting northern Iraq recently, the Syriac Catholic patriarch was horrified by the destruction and the empty villages. What was once a thriving community of 100,000…

Olivier Rey / Red Dirt Report Christian Sahner speaking at OU on Tuesday. NORMAN, Okla. – Christian Sahner is a historian of the Middle East at the University of Cambridge was the invited guest of the University of Oklahoma Department of Classics and Letters to talk on the evolution of the Christian community in Syria…

Scroll down to read more about this year’s nine finalists, the categories for which they were chosen and who sat on the judging panels. Click through to find out more about each finalist and see footage from their entries.…