Cardinal: Save Christian communities in Iraq

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Archbishop of Westminster’s call to save religious diversity in the region By John Pontifex THE leader of Catholics in England and Wales has issued an urgent call to rebuild persecuted Christian communities in Iraq and other minorities pushed to the brink of extinction.

In a statement released today (Thursday, 30th May 2019), Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, said: “The need to reconstruct towns and villages [in Iraq’s Nineveh Plains] destroyed by Daesh (ISIS) and rebuild trust in that region is pressing.” Highlighting how the presence of Christians in Nineveh dates back almost 2,000 years, the Cardinal said: “We are united in prayer and support for the Christians and other minorities in that region as they seek to rebuild their lives.” The Cardinal’s message followed his meeting last week with Iraq’s Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, who visited London at the invitation of Catholic charity Aid to the Church Need, which has provided key emergency and pastoral help for persecuted Christians in the region. During his London visit, Archbishop Warda asked Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt for UK aid for persecuted Christians in Iraq and called on the British Government to urge Iraq to safeguard the presence of minorities in Iraq whose numbers have fallen drastically. Reflecting on his meeting with Archbishop Warda, Cardinal Nichols went on describe his visit to Iraq four years ago just after invading Daesh militants forced entire communities in Nineveh and nearby Mosul to flee in fear of their lives. The cardinal, who is President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales, states: “Since my visit to Iraq in 2015, when Archbishop Warda hosted us and we visited numerous refugee camps across Erbil, the plight of persecuted Christians and other minorities in those ancient lands has been of particular concern.” From a pre-2003 total of 1.5 million, Iraq’s Christian population has declined rapidly, raising fears for the community’s survival, amid declarations of a genocide by Daesh against minorities in the region. Archbishop Warda thanked the Cardinal and other bishops who have visited Iraq in support of the Christian community there. He said: “My greatest thanks to Cardinal Nichols for his deep passion, prayers, wisdom for the persecuted Iraqi minorities. His guidance since our darkest hours has helped me immensely and given me much needed strength to fight for our continued existence in our ancient land.” The urgent need to help Christians wanting to stay in Iraq was spelt out by Archbishop Warda who, during his London visit last week, gave testimony to the Foreign Secretary’s review into the persecution of Christians and spoke in Parliament at an event organised by ACN. For displaced Christians and others arriving in Erbil and elsewhere, the charity provided food, shelter, medicine and schooling. After the communities began returning home following the expulsion of Daesh, ACN began rebuilding homes, convents, churches and other structures. Nearly half of the families forced to leave Nineveh in 2014 are now back in the region. Editor’s Notes www.acnuk.org Aid to the Church in Need is a Pontifical Foundation directly under the Holy See. As a Catholic charity, ACN supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in need through information, prayer, and action. Founded in 1947 by Fr Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope St John Paul II named “An outstanding Apostle of Charity”, the organisation is now at work in 140 countries throughout the world. Undertaking thousands of projects every year, the charity provides emergency support for people experiencing persecution, transport for clergy and lay Church workers, Child’s Bibles, media and evangelisation projects, churches, Mass stipends and other support for priests and nuns and training for seminarians. Aid to the Church in Need UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1097984) and Scotland (SC040748). ACN’s UK office is in Sutton, Surrey and there is a Scottish office in Motherwell, near Glasgow and another office based in Lancaster that covers the North-West. Please always acknowledge Aid to the Church in Need as the source when using our material. For more information, contact Senior Press Officer Dr John Newton on 020 8661 5167. Aid to the Church in Need sends out its press releases to members of media organisations, and individuals who have specifically requested to be on our list. If you no longer wish to receive our press releases please email john.newton@acnuk.org with the word “Remove” in the subject box. ACN’s Privacy Policy can be found at www.acnuk.org/privacy