BAGHDAD, Iraq (ACN News): Two young Catholic priests have returned to Baghdad to begin ministering in the cathedral which fell victim to a massacre of Christians and on November 7 they celebrated Mass there surrounded by shattered pews and broken statues.
Undaunted by the violence which claimed 58 lives – including two priests – exactly a week later, Fathers Faadi and Aysar, both in their 30s, broke off their studies in Rome and returned to Baghdad to celebrate Sunday Mass in Our Lady of Salvation Syrian Catholic Cathedral.
The priests were joined by more than 60 faithful, who overcame their fears by attending the service surrounded by broken pews, windows and statues in ruins.
The service was held to honour loved ones killed in the attack.
They prayed for the recovery of the 75 who were injured in what is described as Iraq’s worst anti-Christian act of violence since former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was overthrown in 2003.
Speaking from Iraq in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need, the Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, Syrian Catholic Archbishop Georges Casmoussa paid tribute to the “courage and determination” of both the priests and the people.
He went on to appeal for massive extra security for Christians, a change in the law to tackle discrimination against Christians and greater inter-faith co-operation – steps which he said were vital in the struggle to persuade faithful not to flee abroad.
Archbishop Casmoussa, himself the victim of a brief kidnapping in January 2005, said: “Since the tragedy in Baghdad, so many people here in Iraq have condemned this act of terrorism. If they condemn this terrorism in their statements, they must be willing to take action to prevent it from happening in the future.”
His comments came a day after AsiaNews reported that two Christians were shot dead.
Archbishop Casmoussa said: “Many, many of our people have lost confidence. But I have confidence in our neighbours.
It is not only Christianity which does not allow people to kill others. This principle applies to others including Muslims.”
The archbishop, based in Qaraqosh, an Iraqi Christian town outside Mosul, said: “The Government needs to give protection to Christian schools and churches and change the laws so that they are more favourable to Christians.
“We need to feel that we Christians are the same rank as others – that we are on the same level as them.”
In his ACN interview, Archbishop Cas-moussa went on to describe how vicar general of the Syrian Catholic diocese in Baghdad Fr Raphael Qotaini, 75, was beginning to recover after being shot in the stomach during the attacks in the cathedral.
Initial reports claiming that Fr Qotaini had received head wounds, suggested he had died alongside Fr Wasim Sabieh and Fr Thaier Saad Abdal.
“All of us are so happy about Fr Qotani,” said the archbishop who said the priest can speak slowly and is still in hospital.”
Support for Iraqi Christians is a priority project area for Aid to the Church in Need.
The charity provides food, shelter and medicine to displaced faithful in northern Iraq as well as refugees in Syria, Jordan and Turkey and also gives aid for the training of seminarians, Christian media projects, Childs Bibles and other catechetical schemes as well as support for religious sisters.
