Category Archives: news

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…

Baghdad’s Syriac Catholic church after being demolished to be replaced by a shopping mall. (Twitter) Twitter users are sharing photos of one of the most prominent Syriac Catholic churches of Baghdad after it was demolished by authorities.…

On a three-day visit, Pope Francis will promote a dialogue based on tolerance and peace with the Muslim world. Barbara Bibboby Barbara Bibbo On Tuesday, Pope Francis will deliver a mass at the Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi [Andrew Medichini/Reuters]…

Before Pope Francis’s visit to the UAE, Cardinal Louis Sako tells The National that Iraqis must reconcile Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, speaks during the inauguration of a Chaldean Catholic pastoral centre in Iraq’s northern multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk on January 2, 2019.…

from UN Assistance Mission for Iraq Baghdad, Iraq, 3rd February 2019 – The Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, His Beatitude Cardinal Mar Louis Raphael I Sako received a delegation from the United Nations Investigative Team for the Accountability of Da’esh/ISIL (UNITAD) on…

Cardinal Louis Sako tells The National that Iraqis must reconcile ahead of Pope Francis’s visit to the UAE Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, speaks during the inauguration of a Chaldean Catholic…

Protestors walking along Montana avenue outside the El Paso Processing Center in June 2018 While awaiting the processing of their applications to enter the United States, they are detained in prison-like facilities for long periods of time and have been subjected to…

Nidhal Garmo has made 20 humanitarian trips since 2007 By Natasha Dado Garmo speaking to a woman inside a refugee camp who needs help getting medicine. For years Garmo has traveled abroad bringing relief to displaced Iraqis and refugees in the Middle East.…

In a message marking the sixth anniversary of his nomination as patriarch, Card Sako recalls challenges and difficulties. The patriarchate has the task of forming a committee for interreligious dialogue. Flight of the faithful and defense of property the most urgent problems. The commitment of priests for displaced persons.…

by Doreen Abi Raad A car in Mosul, Iraq, drives past “I love Mosul” graffiti Oct. 27, 2018. (CNS/Ari Jalal, Reuters) Beirut, Lebanon — The new Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Mosul, Iraq, faces a challenge of rebuilding, but not just structurally. What is also needed, he said, is a…

By AFP – A member of Syria’s Arab Shaytat tribe, who has joined a Kurdish-led alliance fighting Daesh in northern Syria, walks past the debris of a bombed vehicle in the Syrian village of Baghouz, on Sunday (AFP photo) BAGHUZ, Syria — Near the front line in eastern Syria, Amer Khalifa plays with a sword…

“I think God calls all of us to fill different roles at different times and I think that he wanted Donald Trump to become president, and that’s why he’s there,” Sanders told CBN’s David Brody and Jennifer Wishon, according to a transcript of the interview provided by CBN.…