Monthly Archives: September 2017

By Eno Adeogun First Christian in decades elected to head Syria parliament A Christian legislator has been elected as the speaker of parliament in Syria for the first time in decades.…

By Cindy Wooden • Catholic News Service • Posted September 29, 2017 ROME (CNS) — Christians don’t want to be a “protected minority” in the Middle East; they must be full citizens with full rights and the opportunity to contribute to a just and lasting peace, said Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state.…

By Catholic News Agency Banner christian church iraqi flag credit objm shutterstock cna Christian church Iraqi flag (Credit: OBJM/Shutterstock) During a conference on rebuilding Christian villages on the Plains of Nineveh, Vatican…

Iraqis Yazidis dance during a ceremony celebrating the Yazidi New Year north east of Mosul / Getty Images BY: Susan Crabtree Human rights activists and Catholic groups are questioning why the State Department…

Saad Salloum One of the books in the Iraqi Jewish Archive is seen in a still from a video uploaded Nov. 7, 2013. BAGHDAD — The US State Department announced on Sept. 10 that the United States would return the Iraqi Jewish archive to Iraq next year. The archive had been shipped to…

By John Newton THE Vatican’s Secretary of State has warned that Iraq’s ancient Christian community is struggling for its very survival – and has made an urgent call for the rights of all minority groups to be respected. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who ranks second behind Pope Francis in the Vatican, issued…

Siranush Ghazanchyan Michigan became the 8th U.S. state to recognize the independent Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) today, with the overwhelming bipartisan passage of S.R.99, spearheaded by Senator David Knezek (D – 5th District). The bipartisan measure calls upon the U.S. to establish economic and cultural ties with the Republic and support…

by Madeleine Davies On the streets: Kurds celebrate in Duhok, Iraq, on the night of the referendum on Monday A KURDISH Anglican priest de­­scribed this week how his memories of growing up under Saddam Hussein’s rule had influenced his decision to vote in favour of Kurd­ish independence.…

Newly elected Syrian parliament speaker Hammudeh Sabbagh, the first Christian to hold the post in decades, delivers a speech A Christian legislator was Thursday elected speaker of parliament in predominantly Muslim Syria for the first time in decades. Hammudeh Sabbagh, a 58-year-old Syriac Orthodox Christian graduate in law and…

September 28th, 2017ACN, Aid to the Church in Need, Neville Kyrke-Smith, Archbishop Issam John Darwish, Bishop Matthew Kukah, Father Salar Kajo, By: Murcadha O Flaherty Christian leaders who live close to the front line of persecution are coming to the UK…

Iraqi Christians ‘Loosing Heart’ as Iranian-Backed Muslims Move Into Their Towns By Samuel Smith , CP Reporter | (Photo: Reuters/Muhammad Hamed)Kurdish security stand guard as Iraqi Orthodox Christians attend a prayer session inside Syriac Orthodox Church of Mart Shmoni during Good Friday prayers in Erbil, Iraq, April 14, 2017.…

© The Abou Adal collection, Beirut | Yûsuf al-Musawwir, Virgin Hodegetria surrounded by saints (Aleppo, Syria, 1650) by Marc DAOU In a landmark exhibition, the Arab World Institute (IMA) in Paris is showcasing works, frescoes and scripts recounting the 2,000-year history of Christians in the Middle East –…

Iraq, Nineveh Plains, Kurdistan, Open Doors Less than a year after Mosul and the Nineveh Plains were liberated from self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), Christians fear fresh violence as voters head to the polls for the independence referendum in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.…

Dozens of metro Detroit Iraqis await deportation or cancellation of removal orders. DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government says it will appeal an order that suspended the deportation of 1,400 people to Iraq, many metro Detroit residents. It’s unclear why the Justice Department waited nearly two months after the injunction…

By Namo Abdulla Suffering persecution even before genocide under ISIS, Iraq’s Christian population has fallen from 1.5 million before 2003 to just hundreds of thousands today. Last month, eight churches were closed in Baghdad. Rudaw’s Namo Abdulla sat down with three members of the Iraqi Christian community,…

Jardine Malado (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)An Iraqi Christian prepares for the first Sunday mass at the Grand Immaculate Church since it was recaptured from Islamic State in Qaraqosh, near Mosul in Iraq October 30, 2016. A Senate committee has passed a resolution that seeks to provide emergency aid for…

#KurdishVote Power struggles in ancient Assyrian town of Alqosh have left locals with uncertain future St George and Dragon mural in town of Alqosh (MEE/Alex MacDonald) Alex MacDonald’s picture ALQOSH, Iraq – Louay gestured towards the Mar Mikha al-Nuhedri school. He said it…

By Nina Shea, The Wall Street Journal FILE — Iraqi Christians attend an Easter celebration at St.George Chaldean Church in Baghdad, Iraq April 15, 2017. (REUTERS/Khalid al Mousily) As Islamic State heads toward defeat in Iraq, Christian and Yazidi survivors of genocide…

Jardine Malado (Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah)An Iraqi Christian prepares for the first Sunday mass at the Grand Immaculate Church since it was recaptured from Islamic State in Qaraqosh, near Mosul in Iraq October 30, 2016. A Senate committee has passed a resolution that seeks to provide emergency aid for…

MARD?N – Do?an News Agency [Historic Syriac monastery needs attention ] A 1,300-year-old historic rock monastery near the Bar??tepe village in the southeastern province of Mardin’s Midyat district is waiting to be discovered. Also known as the Mor Barsavmo Monastery, where Syriac priests are estranged, some…