Abducted Archbishop Found Dead

(AP)  The body of a kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop was found in a shallow grave in northern Iraq Thursday, one of the most dramatic attacks on the nation's small Christian community.

In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI said the act offends the dignity of humankind.

Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was seized by unknown gunmen on Feb. 29, just minutes after he delivered a mass in Mosul, considered the last urban stronghold of al Qaeda in Iraq.

After two weeks of prayers and searching, officials at the archbishop's church received a phone call from the kidnappers on Wednesday, informing them that he had died and where he was buried, Monsignor Shlemon Warduni, the auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, told The Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear if Rahho was killed by the assailants or if he died of an illness. Shortly after his abduction, church officials said they were especially worried because the archbishop was suffering from unnamed infirmities.

A Mosul morgue official, speaking on condition of anonymity for security concerns, said Rahho's body had no bullet holes. The official also said the body was in an early stage of decomposition, suggesting he died a few days ago, and that it was found buried under a thin layer of dirt.

No one has claimed responsibility for the archbishop's killing.

It was the latest violence in what church members call a series of attacks against Iraq's small Christian community.

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.

Benedict deplored the death, calling it an "inhuman act of violence that offends the dignity of the human being and harms the peaceful coexistence of the dear Iraqi people."

In a telegram of condolence sent to the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, Benedict said he hoped that the "tragic event" would at least help build a peaceful future for the country.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pledged last fall to protect and support the Christian minority. On Thursday, the prime minister said in a statement that "we condemn and denounce this ugly crime and consider it as an aggression that aims to igniting strife among ... the Iraqi people."

In an interview in November with AsiaNews, a Vatican-affiliated missionary news agency, 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.

[libsrweak]

HANGING FA GGOTS KILLING LEADERS OF OTHER RELIGIONS..BUT YET THEY DEFEND THE ACTS..THEY DIVERT THE FACTS..

QUESTION..do you think these radical islamic muslims would respect people who follows such a weak ideology such as liberalism????

[ioweign]

Pope Benedict XVI said, "the act offends the dignity of humankind", when referring to the death of his Archbishop Rahho, at the hands of his kidnappers and murderers.

But, I hope it isn''''t lost on him that the death of hundred of thousands of civilian Iraqis, Iraqi soldiers, coalition soldiers, news media personnel, civilian contract personnel, relief workers,and U.S. military personnel is EQUALLY---if not more---offensive to the dignity of humankind!

I believes he knows this, it just would have been nice if he had said so---that''''s all!

Posted by stn_sage at 09:53 PM : Mar 13, 2008



Do you think maybe this should be told to the nitwit at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C., 20500-0001

[grammawhamma]

"In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI said the act offends the dignity of humankind."

Look at the pot calling the kettle black!

[drinuk]

AND Toolmangler. You have described wonderfully well the World as we see it today. Please tell us if you are aware of any Corporate Companies in America for instance who abide by the rules. Do you honestly feel that the guy WE put in the White House abides by the rules or do Big Pharma have rules on Genocide.

The World is just as you state.

[drinuk]

"Offends the Dignity of Mankind" He should know, his church or should I say Mafia are experts in offending mankind''s dignity. The rape and pillage of Central and South America, the doctrination of poor Africans in preventing the use of Contraception, the inquisition and finally the abuse for generations of young children by their clergy.

The historical record of the Catholic Church has been a wonderful example to the current tribe of rabid religious Nuts worldwide.

Middlecrank is quite correct, all these gangs of religious crooks and villians have distorted the creators intentions from day ONE. If Satan exsists, it is them.

[missingamerica]

Incredible that somehow despite all the murder as a result of the invasion, they claim it is better now.

Posted by rudy654 at 07:36 PM : Mar 13, 2008

lollll..there is a pretty obvious explanation for that.

Iraq STILL isn''t a place where you can feel safe in saying "Well, actually the people with the power in this country are putting the shaft to me.".

Not if you want to avoid being planted in a shallow grave, anyway.

[toolmangler-2009]

Posted by middlecrank at 08:27 PM : Mar 13, 2008



No GOD means the people would be godless, (no rules) could you survive in a world of anarchy, murder, rape the biggest get the most. I doubt it.War is ''not a religious thing, War is simply one group of people wanting something another group has, they try to ''justify'' it by making a religious thing, but when all facts are in, its just greed......

[stn_sage]

Pope Benedict XVI said, "the act offends the dignity of humankind", when referring to the death of his Archbishop Rahho, at the hands of his kidnappers and murderers.

But, I hope it isn''t lost on him that the death of hundred of thousands of civilian Iraqis, Iraqi soldiers, coalition soldiers, news media personnel, civilian contract personnel, relief workers,and U.S. military personnel is EQUALLY---if not more---offensive to the dignity of humankind!

I believes he knows this, it just would have been nice if he had said so---that''s all!

[doesitend]

Is there no compassion here for the lives lost due to this war or any war for whatever the reason? Many of the sentiments posted here express the same vitriol that fostered the abduction of the archbishop and contribute to the continuance of the violence from both sides. He did not deserve to be abducted as any victim of a war does not deserve to die.

[doesitend]

Is there no compassion here for the lives lost due to this war or any war for whatever the reason? Many of the sentiments posted here express the same vitriol that fostered the abduction of the archbishop and contribute to the continuance of the violence from both sides. He did not deserve to be abducted as any victim of a war does not deserve to die.