Vatican City, Nov 2, 2010 / 19:53 pm
Pope Benedict XVI has sent a message to the Syriac archbishop of Baghdad, marking the funerals of those who were killed by Muslim extremists at the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation.
On Oct. 31, gunmen linked to al Qaeda stormed the cathedral during Sunday Mass, taking over 120 Catholics hostage. After the Iraqi military raided the church to free the hostages, 58 people, including two priests, were killed.
The group that claimed responsibility for the attack is demanding that the Coptic Church of Egypt release the wife of one of its priests, whom the extremists claim voluntarily converted to Islam and was subsequently locked up by the Church.
On Nov. 2, the semi-official Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, published a message sent by Pope Benedict to Archbishop Athanase Matti Shaba Matoka, the Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Baghdad.