BAGHDAD, March 13, 2008
Abducted Archbishop Found Dead
Body Of Kidnapped Catholic Clergyman Buried In Shallow Grave in Northern Iraq
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This photo taken in Nov. 2007 shows Chaldean Catholic archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho posing by St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (AP)
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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.
© MMVIII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."
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See all 28 CommentsQUESTION..do you think these radical islamic muslims would respect people who follows such a weak ideology such as liberalism????
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
Look at the pot calling the kettle black!
The World is just as you state.
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.
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.
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......
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!
Look back at your message. These are the blanket statements you give:
"MOST Iraqis believe life is better for them now"
Really? According to an opinion poll? Whose opinion? Or do I just take the media''s word for it?
Then there is this beauty:
In Baghdad, the capital, one in four has had a relative kidnapped and one in three said members of their family had fled abroad. But when asked whether they preferred life under Saddam, the dictator who was executed last December, or under Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, most replied that things were better for them today.
Incredible that somehow despite all the murder as a result of the invasion, they claim it is better now. Do the people have clean water yet? Electricity, yet? Is it better now than before when they did have those things? Let''s get real.
To decimate the Christians in Iraq and drive them out of the country.
Heckuva job, G W Bush - Son of Satan.
Damned for all time.
which would mean he was killed for spying.
Posted by joyous88 at 04:42 PM : Mar 13, 2008
Speaking of shills, step away from the keyboard and go take your meds.
Praying to the dead (old "gods" repackaged as "saints"
Observing pagan holidays: Christmas (winter solstice), easter (resurrection of the mother of Tammuz), lent (40 days fasting to give food for Tammuz in the afterlife), Fish on Fridays to honor Dagon the fish god.
Catholic is the latin word for "universal" and integrated ALL the religions into one. Read the Bible and pray, people.
Pray or be defeated.
This is Islam in all its glory
Posted by dogsoul at 05:40 PM : Mar 13, 2008
Why are neocon posters always so willing to forget history - even recent history?
Before we invaded, Iraq had a thriving Christian community that was not persecuted under Saddam''s rule.
Now? Well, most have fled Iraq and, as this story points out, those that remain are in danger of losing their lives.
Ironic, isn''t it?
Christianity''s biggest enemy in Iraq turned out to be the "Christians" in this country who fell for their own "destroy Islam" and "protect the Holy Land" propaganda but were too cheap - too devoted to their worship of Mammon - to send a big enough force to do it right.
2005, 63 percent of Iraqis felt very safe in their neighborhoods. Today just 26 percent say
the same.
so as the media likes to paint every thing black perhaps all we can go by is the returned soldiers..
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See all 28 Comments