IRAQ (ACN News): After the latest attack on a Syrian-Catholic church in Kirkuk, the Syrian-Catholic Archbishop, Yohanna Petros Mouche, has asked the Iraqi Government to guarantee better security.
In an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need he explained that such a terrorist attack was only possible due to inadequate security.
The local government is “weak and unable to assure security and stability in the region”.
Archbishop Mouche accused the rulers of being enmeshed in their own divisiveness, interested only in safeguarding their own positions and maintaining their share of the nation’s wealth.
Speaking about the alleged terrorist he explained, that he was “perhaps an Iraqi by passport, but certainly not in his heart, because a true Iraqi does not eat the flesh of his brother”.
He called on Iraqi religious leaders to “strongly denounce the repulsive crime, which damages the reputation of Islam and the dignity of Iraq”.
The Archbishop said: “I hope that all what is happening in Iraq today, will only serve to consolidate the firmness of faith of our Christians and their solidarity with one another.
“No matter how big the evil may be, it can’t shake faithful hearts. Brave souls stay firm”.
In a car bomb attack on the Syrian-Catholic church of the Holy Family in the city centre of Kirkuk in the early morning of August 2, 20 people were injured and the structure of the church was badly damaged.
The attack took place on the second day of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting.
