Monthly Archives: March 2021

On the last day of a four-day visit, Pope Francis urged Iraq’s Christians Sunday to forgive Muslim extremists and to rebuild. By Nicole Winfield and Samya Kullab Associated Press  …

Members of the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) extinguish a fire which reportedly erupted after a bombardment from unknown sources of makeshift oil refining installations in Aleppo province, on March 5, 2021. (AFP)Syria’s war has killed more than 387,000 people and displaced millions since starting in…

Iraqi Christians in Baghdad have witnessed the first ever papal Mass held in an Iraqi church. The Pope is halfway through his historic trip. The Pope held his service in a Catholic church but in accordance with Eastern ritualsOn the second day of his visit to Iraq, Pope Francis delivered a Mass in the St. Joseph…

Mariam Fam, Associated Press Photo: Hadi Mizban, AP Iraqi Christians clean the the roof of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021. Pope Francis will visit the church during his historic trip to Iraq. Damaged during…

Inés San Martín rome bureau chief Pope Francis and Iraqi President Barham Salih attend a welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace in Baghdad March 5, 2021. (Credit: Paul Haring/AP.)…

Pope Francis began a historic trip to war-battered Iraq on Friday, defying security fears and the pandemic to comfort one of the world’s oldest and most persecuted Christian communities. Two decades of back-to-back conflicts have left ancient Christian communities that were once a vibrant and integral part of the landscape scattered and…

The Catholic University of Erbil in Ankawa, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Credit: Aid to the Church in Need.MoreCNA Staff, Mar 3, 2021 / 05:00 pm MT (CNA).- A Catholic charity launched a $1.8 million project helping Christian students on the eve of the historic papal visit to Iraq.…

After centuries of Ottoman rule, Iraq emerged as a political unit of its own one hundred years ago. Over the past century, Iraqi Christians have witnessed times of wealth and peaceful coexistence, but they have also had to endure some horrible wars and persecutions.…

A mural depicting Pope Francis on a concrete wall around the Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad, in preparation for the pontiff’s visit, AP/Photo/Khalid Mohammed ope Francis will arrive in Iraq on Friday in a first-ever papal visit to the country that is expected to raise awareness about the challenges facing Iraqi Christians –…

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Music floats through the backstreets of Erbil’s Christian neighbourhood of Ainkawa, its source is singers and instrumentalists seated in a semi-circle around a priest at Our Lady of Perpetual Help church.…

Father Ammar Altony Yako celebrates Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Feb. 23, 2021. Pope Francis plans to Qaraqosh March 7 during his March 5-8 trip to Iraq. (Photo: CNS/Thaier al-Sudani, Reuters)By John L. Aleen…

The Papal visit bears three messages: hope, peace and coexistence and it is a “dream come true”. A thank you to the Yazidis for their support over the years. Sunni Muslim: “We want to pray together with Christians”, a stimulus from the Pope “to arise and rebuild”.…

Fargo, ND, USA / The Mighty 790 KFGO | KFGOThomson ReutersBy John Davison ALQOSH, Iraq (Reuters) – Nestled in a steep rocky hillside among the remote mountains of northern Iraq, the Rabban Hormizd Monastery has watched…

NINEVEH PROVINCE, Iraq — Al-Tahira Church in the Nineveh Plains is readying itself for a visitor, in preparations that are far from normal. In its courtyard, workers aren’t sweeping up fine dust, but lifting and sweeping up bits of homes and churches destroyed during the brutal reign of the Islamic State (ISIS).…

Charlotte Bruneau Your support ensures important Newfoundland and Labrador stories continue to be told.Invest in trusted, local journalism. By Charlotte Bruneau MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – In Mosul, adjacent to the Biblical city of Nineveh, four churches representing different denominations occupy a small square…

Warda said it was “historical and courageous” for the pope to visit Iraq amidst security threats and the COVID-19 pandemic. Wladimir van Wilgenburg Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil Basha Matti Warda speaks during an interview with Kurdistan 24 (Photo: Kurdistan 24)…

Alessia GIULIANI/CPP/CIRIC John Burger – On 13th anniversary of abduction of Archbishop Rahho, some call for relaunch of investigation.As Christians in Iraq prepare to welcome Pope Francis this Friday, they began the week…

Sofia Barbarani, Baghdad | Tom Kington, RomeWednesday March 03 2021, 12.01am GMT, The TimesSecurity is being tightened for the Pope’s visit, which begins in BaghdadSABAH ARAR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES…

TornosNews.1.5 million Armenians, more than 300,000 Pontic Greeks, and up to another 700,000 other Greeks were massacred The Dutch parliament passed a widely supported motion calling “on the government to recognize the Armenian Genocide,” greekcitytimes.com reports.…

By Charlotte Bruneau MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) – In Mosul, adjacent to the Biblical city of Nineveh, four churches representing different denominations occupy a small square surrounded by low-rise houses, testament to the role Iraq’s once flourishing Christian community played.…