ASIA/IRAQ - Political vacuum leaves room for violence towards Christians

Baghdad (Agenzia Fides) – "As Christians of Iraq, we have to be very careful and cautious in the coming months to see if the violence against Christians will end and how the problems of our security and the terrorism will be addressed and resolved. Currently, the country has no government and this is one of the reasons why we suffer these attacks: the political vacuum generates insecurity and terrorism takes advantage of this situation." This is what Fides was told by Archbishop Avak Asadourian, Primate of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Iraq and General Secretary of the Council of Leaders of Christian Churches in Iraq, bringing together leaders of 14 Christian churches in the country.
In the aftermath of the massacre carried out on October 31 in the Syrian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Deliverance in Baghdad, Archbishop defines the current situation of Christians as being marked by "grief, fear, and suffering."
The "Council of Leaders of Christian Churches in Iraq," the Archbishop tells Fides, will meet formally in the coming days "to discuss the problems in depth, arrange meetings with civil leaders and authorities, and decide together what steps to take next. The Christians of Iraq must work in unison in order to live this very sad and difficult time with faith and hope."
The Primate continues: "We Christians are the ancient inhabitants of this land, not only in Iraq but throughout the Middle East. Our presence goes back many centuries. In Iraq, we have always lived in the name of brotherhood and coexistence with other religious communities. We have lived together for centuries, but now our presence is endangered. We have helped to shape and fertilize the land, spreading peace, love, justice. And we want to continue to do so in the future." (PA) (Agenzia Fides 04/11/2010)