Monthly Archives: February 2019

The Chaldean patriarch spoke at the 55th Munich Security Conference, from 15 to 17 February. The prelate insists on the need to counter “the jihadist ideology” and to reform Islam by eliminating the concept of “holy war”. Data on anti-Christian violence in the country.…

(Reuters) – Islamic State faces the total defeat of its self-proclaimed caliphate. This timeline chronicles its lightning rise, cruel reign and stubborn fall. FILE PHOTO – Militant Islamist fighters waving flags, travel in vehicles as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria’s northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo…

By Chas Sisk All Things Considered, · Immigration enforcement has increased under President Trump. As the pace of deportations has quickened, Iraqi nationals have seen their cases expedited even as their immigration status remains murky. Transcript…

By Associated Press BARTELLA, Iraq — In the main square in the northern Iraqi town of Bartella stands a large cross, one of the few overt signs that the northern Iraqi town was historically Christian. Nearby, a massive billboard shows Shiite Muslim martyrs alongside a picture of Iran’s…

Iraqi priest: “Bartella is the epicenter”, but threats also involve Karamles and Qaraqosh. A “demographic distortion” plan is underway, orchestrated by Shiite leaders and supporters in Baghdad. The Iraqi Church rejects armed response and continues in dialogue. We need an institutional police force open to Christians too.…

Top Iraqi Catholic says country’s Christians ‘really need’ a papal visit Pope Francis greets Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad, Iraq, during a meeting with Chaldean Catholics at the Church of St. Simon the Tanner in Tbilisi, Georgia, in this Sept. 30, 2016, file photo. CNS Letter from Rome…

John L. Allen Jr. Italian Jesuit Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, who disappeared in Syria in 2013. (Credit: Society of Jesus.) ROME – Last night, a torchlit rally took place in front of Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore for Father Paolo Dall’Oglio, a native Roman and Jesuit missionary in Syria…

By IFP Editorial Staff – Undated photo of Siamak Morreh-Sedgh, the representative of the Jewish community at the Iranian Parliament, attending an anti-war demonstration of Iranian Jewish community.…

from Emirates News Agency ERBIL, 13th February, 2019 (WAM) — The Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, intensified its humanitarian efforts to help refugees in winter, as per the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and…

Police in Antwerp yesterday carried out 46 house searches leading to 15 arrests, in an investigation of a criminal gang thought to be linked to the scandal of humanitarian visas granted to Syrian and Iraqi Christians. Last month a Mechelen city councillor was arrested and charged with corruption for…

By Lisa Stevens – BARTELLA: Only a fraction of Christian residents has returned to the northern Iraqi town of , two years since it was liberated from Islamic State militants. Many fear intimidation by the town‘s population of Shabak, a Shiite Muslim ethnic group that dominates the militias now running Bartella. The tensions are a…

Inés San Martín ROME BUREAU CHIEF Pope Francis greets Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad, Iraq, during a meeting with Chaldean Catholics at the Church of St. Simon the Tanner in Tbilisi, Georgia, in this Sept. 30, 2016, file photo. (Credit: CNS photo/Paul Haring.)…

In this Jan. 18, 2019 photo, a house that once belonged to a Christian family lies in ruins, destroyed during fighting with the Islamic State, in Bartella, Iraq. FAY ABUELGASIM/AP By FAY ABUELGASIM | Associated Press…

Fay Abuelgasim ASSOCIATED PRESS In this Jan. 18, 2019 photo, a man prays at Mart Shmony Church, an Orthodox church in the northern Iraqi town of Bartella, Iraq. Two years after it was liberated from Islamic State militants, only a fraction of Christian residents have returned to Bartella. Many…

By Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The martyrs of different Christian churches throughout the Middle East are together in heaven, interceding for peace in the region and enjoying the unity for which all Christians on earth must strive, Pope Francis said.…

Card Sako joins the debate on the renewal of the Eastern Churches, some of which want to “stubbornly” hold onto the dictates of the past. It is necessary to change, whilst maintaining “originality and authenticity” and facing anew the “missionary” challenge. Persecutions have generated “closed ethnic” communities. Addressing “current” needs and problems is a must.…

For the Chaldean primate, persecution in the region is one of the pontiff’s main concerns. Francis will try to turn the page in Christian-Muslim relations and renew the journey of peace. The visit could also help Iraqi Christians and give them new confidence in the future.…

Michael Foust | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor The brutality of ISIS made headlines and grabbed the world’s attention over the past decade, but it also had a spiritual impact: It drove Muslims to Christ. That is the case in Kobani, a Syrian city near the Turkish border that was controlled by…

In 2018, multiple delegations of prominent Iraqis—including both Shiites and Sunnis—made sub-rosa visits to Israel; some Iraqi parliamentarians were apparently among them. News of the visits, which only became public a few weeks ago, sparked outrage in Iraq, and the speaker of the country’s parliament called for a formal investigation to identify and punish any…

Abu Dhabi clergyman says Christianity’s long story in the Gulf reveals a past of coexistence The ruins of the Christian monastery on Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Martin Pfeifer / TDIC via AFP It was once thought that the early Christians were driven out of the Gulf, forced to convert to Islam or…