(From our correspondents in Sydney) – "The Australian embassy in Amman issued 27 visas to allow young Iraqis to take part in WYD. Iraq too will be there in Sydney". It is with great joy that Father Philip Najim, Chaldean Prosecutor to the Holy See, gave the announcement to Sir that "many in Iraq were waiting for this. It is a symbolic number of visas (the number of applications was 170, editor’s note) but our youngsters will be in Sydney too and that’s what counts". "I would like to thank the Australian government for everything they have been able to do and also the Australian embassy to the Holy See which has contributed to this positive ending". According to the Bagdadhope website, in which Father P. Atto’s comments are reported, who is one of the escorts in this trip, "21 kids are leaving from Erbil and another 6 from other places. 5 youths come from the Mar Qardah parish in Erbil, which is my parish. The flight from Erbil to Dubai and then to Sydney is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. We are very happy. We would like to show the Holy Father and the whole world our faith, heir of a millenary tradition which is still alive in our hearts".
