His comments came shortly after the Syriac Archbishop of Mosul, Baptiste Georges Casmoussa, confirmed that the 65-year old Rahho was seized when he left the Church of the Holy Spirit where he attended the ‘Via Crucis’ (Way of the Cross), a Catholic devotion commemorating Jesus’ last hours before dying at a cross, ahead of Easter.
Police suggested his two body guards had tried to prevent the kidnapping Friday, February 29, but they and the driver were killed in the shoot out in the the eastern al-Nur district. On Saturday, March 1, security forces fanned out across Mosul searching for the archbishop, with one senior police reportedly saying that a special team tightened security "especially around the Al-Nur district."
Pope Benedict XVI was "immediately informed of the tragic episode," the Vatican press office said in a statement released by Vatican Radio. "Monsignor Rahho had just concluded the celebration of the ‘Way of the Cross’ a religious rite that is of dear and particular significance to the faithful of Iraq. This leads one to think that this criminal act was premeditated," the press office said in the statement on behalf of the pope.
DEEP WOUNDS
"Embittered by this latest execrable act, which deeply wounds the entire Church in the country and in particular the Chaldean Church, the Pope feels close to" the church leadership and "and all of the Christian community, which has been severely tested, as well as the families of the victims," the Vatican said.
The pope has urged all believers "to unite in fervent prayer so that reason and humanity may prevail in the minds of the authors of this attack and that Monsignor Raho is restored to the care of his flock as soon as possible," said the statement, monitored by BosNewsLife. The pope also said he hopes the "Iraqi people may find the path to reconciliation and peace”.
Speaking from Mosul, monsignor Casmoussa said they are awaiting further news from the kidnappers. Rabban al-Qas, the bishop of the northern Iraqi cities of Irbil and Amadiyah, said in published remarks that the the church was especially concerned because Rahho has health problems. He did not elaborate, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
CHRISTIANS FLEE
Iraq’s Christians, with the Chaldean rite by far the largest community, were said to number at least 750,000 before the US-led invasion nearly five years ago. The number today is believed to have dropped to half that figure, due to violence. Churches, priests and business owned by Christians have been attacked by Islamic militants and many have fled the country.
Last June, the pope expressed deep concern about the plight of Christians caught in the deadly sectarian crossfire in Iraq and pressed President Bush in a meeting to keep their safety in mind. "Particularly in Iraq, Christian families and communities are feeling increasing pressure from insecurity, aggression and a sense of abandonment," Benedict said at the time.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki haso pledged to protect and support the Christian minority, The Associated Press (AP) news agency rported. While many areas of Iraq witnessed a decrease of violence over the past six months, the US military regards Mosul as the last urban stronghold of al-Qaeda in Iraq, The Associated Press (AP) news agency reported Saturday, March 1.
In an interview with AsiaNews, a Vatican-affiliated missionary news agency, in November, Rahho said the situation in Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, was not improving and "religious persecution is more noticeable than elsewhere because the city is split along religious lines." He reportedly said that "Everyone is suffering from this war irrespective of religious affiliation, but in Mosul Christians face starker choices. "
