We should pray for the safe release of this fine man of God

----- Original Message -----
From: "Barb O'Connor" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, August 24, 2006 1:24 PM
Subject: [romancatholicchat] This news may interest you


> Barb O'Connor is sending this message
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> ZENIT News Agency, The World Seen from Rome
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>
> Iraqi Christians on Edge After Priest's Kidnapping
> Archbishop of Kirkuk Says $1 Million Ransom Demanded
>
> BAGHDAD, Iraq, AUG. 23, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Last week's kidnapping at
gunpoint of a Chaldean priest in Baghdad has sent shock waves throughout the
Christian community in Iraq.
>
> On Aug. 15, the car in which Father Saad Sirop Hanna, 34, was traveling
was stopped by three masked gunmen, when he was returning home from
celebrating Mass in St. Jacob's Church, in the Baghdad district of Al Dora.
>
> With the passing of time, concern grows for his safety, said the charity
Aid to the Church in Need.
>
> Last Sunday, Benedict XVI expressed his closeness to suffering Iraqi
victims and appealed to the kidnappers for the release of the Chaldean
priest.
>
> Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly of Babylon of the Chaldeans held a meeting
last week with the prime minister of Iraq to try to find ways for Father
Sirop's release.
>
> For his part, Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk, in northeastern Iraq,
implored on television for the priest's release. Subsequently, during an
interview with Aid to the Church in Need, he commented on the distress that
the incident has caused in the Christian community.
>
> "Christians are living in a panic and they are terrified of more attacks
on their priests and their churches," the archbishop said.
>
> "When a priest is kidnapped, the Christian community takes it very
seriously because he is such an important religious symbol," he explained.
>
> Deterioration
>
> According to Archbishop Sako, the kidnappers have demanded a ransom of
about $1 million. A few days ago they telephoned Patriarch Emmanuel III
Delly, informing him that they were holding the priest.
>
> Meanwhile, friends and colleagues of Father Sirop have praised his
determination to minister to his people as widely as possible during the
current crisis.
>
> Aid to the Church in Need had agreed to sponsor him to study for a
doctorate in philosophy in Rome, starting this autumn.
>
> Aid to the Church in Need noted that the kidnapping comes amid a sudden
deterioration of life for Christians in Iraq -- a number of lay Christians
have been killed in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, another Baghdad Chaldean
priest, Father Raad Washan, was kidnapped though he was released 48 hours
later.
>
> Archbishop Sako mentioned that the lives of other priests have been
threatened.
>
> Last Sunday, Mass attendance in Baghdad was very low when a 48-hour curfew
was introduced after fears of an increase in violence associated with a
Shiite pilgrimage.
>
> The archbishop described Baghdad as "a jail" from which people are
desperate to escape.
>
> ZE06082304
>
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