Monthly Archives: August 2017

Rikar Hussein Mahmoud Bali US-backed Syrian Civil Council Pardons Dozens of Islamic State Members A U.S.-backed Syrian group known as Civil Council of Raqqa granted amnesty to 96 alleged members of the Islamic State (IS) on Wednesday in what it said was an attempt…

By Murcadha O Flaherty (original interview by Danielle Piccini) AN urgent call to speed up plans to rebuild homes in one of the Iraqi Christian towns worst affected by Daesh (ISIS) violence has been made by the leader of the local Church community amid signs that the district is at last coming back to life.…

Kurdish Yazidis, relatives of a Peshmerga fighter killed in a suicide attack in Sinjar province, mourn with another relative, also member of the Peshmerga, before the burial ceremony at Mazar Sharaf Eldin, a sacred and cemetery area for the Yazidi minority, north of Sinjar, March 2, 2015. A number of Peshmerga were killed and others…

Iraqi Christians attend Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in the predominantly Christian Iraqi town of Qaraqosh, Ninevah province, Iraq, July 24, 2017. (photo by SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images) BAGHDAD — Iraqi Christians will have to unite under one banner and work past their…

Jardine Malado (Reuters/Marko Djurica)A damaged statue of Jesus Christ is seen inside a church in the town of Qaraqosh, south of Mosul, Iraq, April 11, 2017. Mideast Catholic and Orthodox patriarch are calling on Pope Francis to “scold” world…

Fady Noun Afflicted by wars, emigration and insecurity, Christian communities have now become “a small flock” amid the indifference of the international community. Patriarchs appeal to Pope Francis and the international community. Catholics and Orthodox share the same problems. The end of Christians in the East would be “a shameful stigma for the whole…

Photo via Martha Hudson by Edwin Mora13 Aug 20173 Hope has returned to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world as they struggle to bring life again to their historical homeland in northern Iraq, where they…

SULAIMANI — Senior Kurdish officials from the High Referendum Council are set to visit Baghdad in the next two days where they will present a set of the central government’s “constitutional violations,” which they say left the Kurdistan Region with no choice but to announce independence, a council member said.…

Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs said only the ‘Rock of Peter’ could help LEBANON:Mideast Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs decried the desperate situation they face as shepherds of churches “whose existence is in real danger.” They categorized the continued displacement of Christians from the Middle East as “a…

By Catholic News Agency Banner easter attack on christians in aleppo syria credit melkite archdiocese of aleppo syria cna 5 14 15 Immaculate heart radio square 300×250 After the Syrian city of Aleppo lost over half its Christian population during the conflict among government forces and various rebel groups, its Melkite archbishop is…

Photo of Kenneth Timmerman President, Foundation for Democracy in Iran Once again, Christians are fleeing Iraq. But this time, it’s not because they are under attack from the jihadi extremists who have terrorized their communities for the past fourteen years. It’s not even because of ISIS, which physically occupied the Nineveh…

By Murcadha O Flaherty A SENIOR Iraqi bishop has urged the faithful to support Christian families returning home after being driven out of their towns and villages by jihadist group Daesh (ISIS). Syriac Catholic Archbishop Petros Mouche spoke to leading Catholic charity, Aid to the…

By Rudaw Mithal al-Alusi leads Iraq’s Ummah Party. Photo: AP BAGHDAD, Iraq—Iraqi Sunni politician and leader of the Ummah Party Mithal al-Alusi says that Iraq has failed its people and that the Kurds are justified in their quest for separation and the establishment of a state of their own.…

Aline Barros Court Case: Is It Lawful to Repatriate Someone Who May be Tortured? DETROIT — At the Chaldean Community Foundation in Sterling Heights, Michigan, more clients than usual are asking for assistance with their immigration cases.…

UNHCR, the United Nations’ Refugee Agency, has been stepping up its help in Iraq for families inside Mosul, including thousands who have recently returned to the city after fleeing the fighting. UNHCR, and its partner, Human Appeal, have already distributed shelter kits to more…

Iraq’s religious minority were deliberately targeted for extermination Tom Holland (Photo: Getty) As the floodwaters subsided, the Ark drifted across northern Iraq. Finally, with a crunching jolt, it hit dry land. Its timbers had scraped the peak of a mountain range called Sinjar. Water began to pour in. Fortunately, a black serpent, its coils as…

The scandal over contaminated eggs in European countries is growing. To protect customers from the toxic Fipronil, some food discounters started already pulling out all eggs from the shelves. But what about other foodstuffs like mayonnaise, pancakes and pasta, or salads containing eggs? The Netherlands Food and Consumer Products…

By Bridget Johnson Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) fighters move into position for a battle against ISIS militants in Raqqa, Syria, on June 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla) Christian fighters in the multi-ethnic, multi-sectarian Syrian Democratic Forces reported…

• Armed men open fire, 13 dead and 26 wounded • Pope Francis sends message of condolence By Marta Petrosillo AFTER armed men opened fire on Massgoers in Nigeria – leaving 13 people dead – the…

by Ellen Teague The evidence of Iraq’s shrinking Christian population was shown recently by the news of the Vatican ordering the closure of eight churches in Baghdad People returning ‘in huge numbers’ to Nineveh region The Iraqi Ministry for Migration and Internal Mobility has reported that more than…