"Facing death every day only keeps together the Christian Iraqi community at home and abroad , and it’s sad to have to admit that it’s death that keeps the Iraqi Christians together". This was stated by father Douglas Dawood Al Bazi, a Chaldeian Catholic priest of Baghdad, in commenting the murder of the Syro-Orthodox priest Adel Youssef. "Why was he killed? writes Douglas in a note for the Migrants’ Pastoral Office of the archdiocese of Turin, relayed by Baghdadhope . He hadn’t done anything more than the martyrs who came before him had done: bringing that peace and justice that over the last five years have not been and are not appreciated by some political and religious parties". "You should know he goes on that the Christian community in Iraq sees the Church as the only place of aggregation and the figure of the priest as the heart of the community. Hitting this symbol means pushing people to flee away but the priests will remain amidst those who cannot leave their homes". "It’s strange concludes Douglas, who was abducted for 9 days back in 2006 to see that in Iraq today groups of militiamen there are at least 25 in the country parade with a branch of olive in one hand and a weapon in the other hand, while Christians do it with a branch of olive in one hand and a candle in the other, the symbols of Iraqi Christianity".” “” “
