Vatican official: Iraq ‘s Christian Community at Risk of Disappearing

ICC Note

“The authorities must do everything they can so that Christians are a respected and integral part of the life of the country, even if they are a minority,”

By John Thavis

08/12/2009 Iraq (CNS)-A leading Vatican official called for greater protection of Iraq ‘s beleaguered Christian minority, saying the disappearance of Christianity from the country would be an enormous religious and cultural loss for everyone.

“The authorities must do everything they can so that Christians are a respected and integral part of the life of the country, even if they are a minority,” Archbishop Filoni said in an interview Aug. 11 with the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.

The Iraqi government meets regularly with church leaders and in theory is committed to protecting Christians, but “this also has to be translated into concrete facts,” he said.

The archbishop pointed to the recent restitution of three church-run schools as an important step in the right direction. The schools, two in Baghdad and one in Kirkuk , will be run by Chaldean Catholic nuns, who managed them before they were nationalized under Saddam Hussein.

“This seems to be an important signal that offers hope and indicates appreciation for the contribution Christians can give to the future of the Iraqi nation,” he said.