.bmp)
.bmp)
BAGHDAD-[[[[[[The body of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop kidnapped in Iraq last month was found just outside the northern city where he was abducted, Iraqi police and a morgue official said Thursday.Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was seized in Mosul and three of his companions were killed Feb. 29 when gunmen attacked them soon after he left mass. It was the latest violence in what church members call a series of attacks against Iraq's small Christian community.]]]]]]A Mosul police officer and morgue official confirmed Thursday that the body of the dead archbishop was found. Both men spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.The news agency of the Italian bishops' conference also reported that Rahho's body was found. The SIR news agency quoted the auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, Monsignor Shlemon Warduni, as saying the kidnappers had buried him.No one has claimed responsibility for the archbishop's killing.Last year's International Religious Freedom Report from the U.S. State Department noted that Chaldean Catholics comprise a tiny minority of the Iraqi population, but are the largest group among the less than 1 million Christians in mostly Muslim Iraq.Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Iraqi Christians have been targeted by Islamic extremists who label them "crusaders" loyal to U.S. troops. Churches, priests and businesses owned by Christians have been attacked by Islamic militants, and many have fled the country. Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pledged last fall to protect and support the Christian minority.Though most of Iraq has witnessed a decrease of violence over the past six months, the U.S. military regards Mosul as the last urban stronghold of al-Qaida in Iraq, and is engaged in a campaign with Iraqi forces to root out extremists from the city 225 miles northwest of Baghdad. In an interview with AsiaNews, a Vatican-affiliated missionary news agency, in November, Rahho said the situation in Mosul was not improving and "religious persecution is more noticeable than elsewhere because the city is split along religious lines.""Everyone is suffering from this war irrespective of religious affiliation, but in Mosul Christians face starker choices," he told the news agency at the time.[[[[The Chaldean church is an Eastern-rite denomination that recognizes the authority of the pope and is aligned with the Roman Catholic Church.]]]]The Vatican said at the time of the kidnapping the fact that the gunmen knew Rahho had been celebrating a religious rite indicated the kidnapping was premeditated.Pope Benedict XVI had earlier asked the church "to unite in fervent prayer so that reason and humanity prevail among the authors of the kidnapping, and that Monsignor Rahho is returned quickly to the care of his flock."PS:This one is really sad....I just hope that he is in heaven and resting after his horrible ordeal...Please remember to pray for the christians in Iraq.......
As in the days of Noah.....
