Bishop: The Courage of Iraqi Christians

The English Bishop Recalled the Faith and Courage of Suffering Christians saying his visit revealed much more than violence.

LONDON (Zenit) - The bishop of Portsmouth said a visit to Iraq not only reveals the extent of the nation's suffering, but also gives a look at the courage and fidelity of the Christians there.

Bishop Crispian Hollis affirmed this Monday when he gave the homily at a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor in Westminster Cathedral to pray for Iraqi Christians and a stop to the violence in that country.

Bishop Hollis, chair of the International Affairs department of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and Auxiliary Bishop William Kenney of Birmingham recently visited Erbil, Kirkuk, and Sulemaniyah in northern Iraq, at the invitation of the Chaldean bishops.

The bishops also spent time at the Chaldean Seminary of St Peter in Ainkawa, a Christian town near Erbil.

During the Mass, which was attended by a large group of Iraqi Christians, the Gospel was sung in Arabic and the Our Father was said in Aramaic -- the language closest to Christ's dialect.

Systematic, relentless murder

In his homily, Bishop Hollis noted that during episcopal ordination, prelates receive the duty to have "constant care for all the Churches and gladly come to the aid and support of Churches in need."

He said his trip to Iraq was one manifestation of this duty.

"Our visit [...] came hard on the heels of the tragic kidnapping and death of Archbishop Rahho of Mosul," Bishop Hollis noted. The Mosul archbishop was kidnapped Feb. 29 after leading the Way of the Cross. His body was found in a shallow grave some two weeks later.

Bishop Hollis continued: "In this country, we may feel that we know quite a lot about the situation in Iraq but our knowledge largely stems from what we know and read about of the military activity in and around Baghdad and Basra.

"Only occasionally do we look further afield and it's really only when we do that do we become aware of the ways in which the Christian community [...] is suffering and being continually harassed and threatened.

"I now have some idea, albeit very superficial, of the sufferings and hardships being faced and endured by your Christian brothers and sisters -- and they are considerable. The continuing violence in the country has seriously wounded your community in a particular way and the murder of lay people and clergy by extremists of all sorts has been both systematic and deliberately relentless."

Partial picture

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Nevertheless, Bishop Hollis affirmed, the violence is "only part of the picture."

"My visit, which took me to Erbil, Kirkuk and Sulemanyiah, allowed me to share faith with your bishops, the priests and your fellow citizens," he said. "I was hugely encouraged and strengthened by their courage and fidelity. We visited the seminary in Ainkawa where we found 27 young men studying for the priesthood and we spent fruitful time with them, with their teachers and with the religious communities of sisters who work so tirelessly and fearlessly for the spread of the Gospel.

"Our gathering here today for this celebration of Mass, to which I most warmly welcome you all, is as much about them and the people they serve as it is about being a desperate prayer to the Lord for his gift of peace for a deeply troubled land."

The bishop said his lasting impression from the visit is that of having been "among a people for whom the light of faith is alive."

He concluded urging prayer "in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Iraq; we need to pray for peace -- and Christ's peace, not simply an end to hostilities -- for your country. We need to pray for God's blessings on all who live and suffer there and for all of you who are far from home and yet near to families and friends who live in danger and hardship. And we pray that the Lord fill us with all the blessings and graces that he promises to those who are faithful."