Catholic Online Forum

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In Christ
Kim, M



"....abstinence and chastity, dispose man very much to the perfection of intellectual operation.” St Thomas Aquinas

Very sad situation. It reminds of how nobody took seriously information that was coming out of Europe about what the Nazis were doing to the Jews. The West was complicit in the ethnic cleansing of Christians out of Kosovo which created a Muslim mini-state in the heart of Europe. Why do Western governments seem to care more about Muslims than about Christians? It also upsets me that no matter how horrific the atrocity, Christians in the West will not take to the streets in large numbers to protest crimes against Christians, yet Muslims will riot madly over just the possible idea that someone might desecrate a Koran. After the Baghdad church massacre, there were some protest marches in US cities and I followed the news somewhat-- not near the turnout one would have expected. Mostly it was Iraqi Christians. It didn't seem like a lot of American churches joined them in solidarity.

Things that struck me from Bishop Warda's address:

"Yet for nearly 50 years, Christians in Iraq have suffered displacement and negligence. Here is a picture of the 233 Christian villages in northern Iraq in 1961. Dozens of those villages were destroyed in the 1950s and 60’s as Iraq evolved from a kingdom to a republic and this displacement continued into the years of Saddam Hussein."

"During the Gulf War years, the Christian population in Iraq was estimated between 1.2 and 1.4 million. By 2003, it had dropped by over half a million. Iraq’s Christian population now numbers less that 500,000 and this figure is highly optimistic."

"Between 2006 and 2010, 17 Iraqi priests and 2 Iraqi Bishops were kidnapped in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk. Many were held for days; some for weeks. All were beaten or tortured by their kidnappers. Most were released, but one bishop, four priests and three sub-deacons were killed. In most cases, those responsible for the crimes stated they wanted Christians out of Iraq."

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Grace

As to the past, let us entrust it to God's mercy, the future to Divine Providence. Our task is to live holy the present moment. - Saint Gianna Molla

I think it is due to what our Pope called a pathology of "self-hate".
They fight for everyone else's rights except their own.
The Moslems stick to their identity, and no one can take it away from them, not even when they are in a Christian majority country. On the other hand the Christians of Europe have lost their Christian identity, without convictions and easily swayed by every passing wind, like a plant that has been uprooted.
So if they lost their identity as Christians, they do not feel any closeness to the Christians in Iraq.

_________________
In Christ
Kim, M



"....abstinence and chastity, dispose man very much to the perfection of intellectual operation.” St Thomas Aquinas