The recent attacks against Chaldeian churches in Iraq, in particular that of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, which has been assaulted twice in three days, are quite a worry for the bishops of the Chaldeian Patriarchate. Over the telephone with SIR, the auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, mgr. Shlemon Warduni, confirmed such worries. "We are going through a very critical and dangerous time. We hope people will not forget about dialogue with our Muslim brothers, with whom we have lived in friendship for so many years. We do not want to destroy all the good things that have been built in the past. We need cooperation and prayer so that the only God will give peace to our country". Local sources assume the violence against the Christian Church may have been unleashed by the Pope’s words, but mgr. Warduni is not completely sure. "There are many reasons, and such reasons are rooted in the really complicated reality of today’s Iraq. The world is so bad and has put us in this position. I do not see much light in the Iraqi horizon. The invitation I make to all of our communities and to the Muslim devotees he concludes is to pray to search peace and reconciliation with the Islamic devotees".
