Beirut, Lebanon, Feb 25, 2010 / 11:48 am
The Patriarch of the Syro-Catholic Church sent an urgent letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister on Wednesday pleading for government intervention to establish peace and security for Iraqi Christians, especially those in Mosul. The message is accompanied by news of peaceful protests from the area's Christians in the coming weeks.
Translated portions of the text written by Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, based in Beirut, Lebanon, to Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri Al-Maliki were sent to CNA by a priest from Mosul.
"We are writing you now with injured hearts because of the painful news we are receiving, especially from Mosul where the tendency of Christians being the target of 'anonymous' criminals has increased considerably," writes the Patriarch in the message.
Of Christians in Mosul, he relates, "they are killed, sacrificed and attacked in the streets, in schools and also in their own homes, this only because of their religious affiliation which is different from the affiliation of the majority who live in that city."