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Mar 4, 2021 · Why is Iraq important to the Roman Catholic Church? Christianity’s roots in Iraq extend back to the first decades of the faith. The tombs of biblical figures such as Jonah and Joshua...
- A History of Persecution and Discrimination
- Plunging Numbers. The Exodus After 2003 and Between 2014 and 2017
- Insecurity and Sectarianism An Ongoing Threat to Iraqi Christians
- The Aspiration to Full Citizenship in A Peaceful and Pluralistic Iraq
- The Holy See's Concerns For Christians in Iraq
The Iraqi Christian community, that is composed today of Chaldeans, Assyrians, Armenians, Latins, Melkites, Orthodox and Protestants, has been marked by persecution and discrimination. Under Saddam Hussein’s secular regime, Christians had found a modus vivendithat allowed the Church to carry out its activities, also in the charitable field. However...
The most massive exodus occurred after the US-led military intervention in 2003, due to insecurity, violence and attacks and between 2014 and 2017, after the establishment of the self-proclaimed “Islamic State" (IS - DAESH) in the north of the Country. On the eve of the second Gulf War, Christians in Iraq were estimated between 1 and 1.4 million (a...
After the military defeat of the Caliphate in Iraq in 2017, Christians have gradually begun to return to the Nineveh Plain, with the help of the universal Church and, in particular, of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Today, almost 45% of Nineveh's Christians have returned to their homes, while 80% of the churches in the P...
Insecurity, political instability, sectarianism, but also corruption and the economic crisis, which has worsened with the COVID-19 pandemic, continue to discourage Christians from returning or staying in the Country. To ensure their future in a united and jihadi-free Iraq, they need above all recognition of their full citizenship. This is the reaso...
The plight of Christians in Iraq has always been of great concern for the Holy See, especially since the second Gulf War of 2003, which Pope Saint John Paul II strenuously opposed, as he did in 1991, warning about “the tremendous consequences that an international military operation would have for the population of Iraq and for the balance of the M...
Mar 6, 2021 · (CNS photo/Vatican Media) Pope Francis, now the first pope to set foot in Iraq, hopes to bring consolation, healing and peace to a people devastated by war. A meeting between the...
Mar 4, 2021 · A long history in a nutshell. The Past Two Decades. During the disastrous years following the Iraq War of 2003, many Iraqi Christians, including priests and bishops, were killed or kidnapped. Violent Islamists forced Christians to move out and close their churches.
Dec 15, 2020 · Iraq is the country of Prophet Jonah who lived in Nineveh and called for repentance and permanent return to God. It is also the country in which the people were exiled in the Old Testament during a merciless trip called "exile" to Babylon. In the first place, the Pope comes to the country of Mesopotamia as a pilgrim.
The modern history of Catholicism in Iraq began in the 17th century when Emir Afrasiyab of Basra allowed the Portuguese to build a church outside of the city. Catholics in Iraq follow several different rites, but in 2022, most (82%) are members of the Chaldean Catholic Church; about 17% belong to the Syriac Catholic Church, and the remainder ...
The majority of Catholics lived in the north of Iraq, as well as in Baghdad. Reflective of the concerns of the period, a Chaldean synod of 1957 dealt with administration, discipline, liturgy and Catholic Action. Iraq established diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1966. The monarchy of King Faisal I fell in 1958, and a coup ten years ...
