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Published: June 14, 2007
“They were shot in the head”
Rally planned Friday in San Diego over persecution of Iraqi Christians
On June 3, Bishop Sarhad Jammo of San Diego’s Chaldean/Assyrian Catholic Diocese of St. Peter the Apostle was in Mosul, Iraq -- the same day that Father Ragheed Ganni and three deacons were shot and killed in front of Mosul’s Church of the Holy Spirit.
 Since attending their funeral, Bishop Jammo has returned to San Diego and will speak at the downtown Federal Building on Friday, June15, during a rally asking for help to stop the persecution of Iraqi Christians.
Largely ignored by the secular press, the plight of Iraq’s Christians has taken a back seat in the media to the struggles between Shiite and Sunni Muslims. Dr. Noori Barka of St. Peter’s Chaldean Catholic parish has been working with Bishop Jammo by lobbying the State Department to do more to help a forgotten people who have been brutalized.
“The situation there is only getting worse,” said Barka. “The priest and those deacons were in the same area as the bishop when they were killed. He saw exactly what happened. They were shot in the head. One of the deacons was shot right in front of his wife!”
Some Christian refugees have been placed in Syria and Jordan, since staying in Iraq has become increasingly dangerous. “We have had some success with the State Department,” said Barka. “Finally, they are going to start allowing Christian refugees to come here from Iraq, probably in September or October. We are trying to get more aid for these people and get the new government in Iraq to help. They are IDP’s (Internally Displaced Persons) and we want to get them relocated to a safe area. Right now that is the north of Iraq, near Kurdistan. That is what we are asking for.”
Both Barka and Bishop Jammo are hopeful that President Bush’s June 9 meeting with the pope will make a difference in U.S. policy toward Iraqi Christians, especially since the issue of Iraq’s Christians was at the top of the pope’s agenda.
“We are hoping that the pressure from the pope and from other countries will help,” said Barka. We have another Chaldean community in Michigan that we have been in contact with and they are hoping to have a rally next week.”
Barka asks all Catholics, Protestants and concerned citizens attend the rally at noon this Friday. Buses will be available at 10 a.m. at St, Peter’s Chaldean Cathedral in El Cajon to provide free transportation to the rally.
The Federal Building is located at 880 Front Street in downtown San Diego.
For more information, call (619) 579-7997.
Posted Thursday, June 14, 2007 4:23 AM By phil floersh
A young Mexican worker...he mops the refectory floors and other odd jobs, is going for this rally. He arranged his days off to do this. Juan talks to me when I have a cup of hot chocolate after spiritual reading. The evangelicals were trying to get him. I wish I had bought some scapulars with me....Hint...Helenrose!!!!
phil
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Posted Thursday, June 14, 2007 5:39 AM By stlouisix
The message of Jesus Christ is to "Love your enemies." The message of The Quran's so-called "religion of peace" is to summarily "Kill your enemies!" Make no mistake about it. The Battle of Lepanto has been joined again by forces that would eradicate Christianity from the face of the earth. This new war for our souls is being primarily fought in the spiritual realm by powers and principalities, the manifestation of which is seen naturally by stories such as this one. We need to put on the armor of Christ, and witness to the true faith, calling on Our Lady of Victory to once again intercede for us as she did for the Christian fleet at Lepanto. We need to especially pray that the formerly Christian West will stop committing demographic suicide by not reproducing itself, which is something that Islam has no problems with. Axiom: Wars cannot be won without soldiers, especially spiritual wars for the sake of our eternity! The consequences of the West's contraceptive mentality of the age spawning the world's moral aberrations has not been lost on Islam who patiently waits why the West dies out! Catholic Churches are being replaced by Mosques. So much for buying into the lies of the devil! And this is the "democracy" that the US would export to the world where authentic freedom to do what you ought is replaced with hedonistic license to do what you want? God is not going to bless the West but rather chastise it for its sins. And a resurgent Islam could just be that chastisement. We had better all wake up before it's too late. The apostate Giuliani was given a wake up call by God recently in the way of lightning strikes silencing his indefensible comments in support of baby killing, which Giuliani subsequently mocked. God Almighty will not be mocked indefintely!
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Posted Thursday, June 14, 2007 8:26 AM By Paul Tarsus
The truly sad fact about this story is that the persecutions against Christians and Catholics in particular, throughout Iraq as this story mentions, India, Pakistan and China to name just a few other countries around the world where these persecutions are taking place on a daily basis, are being totally ignored and surpressed by the secular press as if they are a non story that deserves no attention. If it was not for the alternative media via the Internet with sites like California Catholic Daily News, these very serious persecutions against Christians, and in particular Catholics and the Catholic Church around the world would receive little or no attention at all. When the truth ceases to be reported as it truly should be in a country or society that claims to be democratic and with a free press, the conditions that make similar persecutions acceptable become a fact of life in the very same countries that consider themselves democratic and with a free press. Pray that the secular press truly appreciate and understand the importance of what they are doing for a living, and that it really is a vocation from God if done fairly and truthfully. People deserve to hear the whole truth and nothing but the whole truth, so help us God!
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Posted Thursday, June 14, 2007 6:12 PM By WB
We should all pray in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Catholic parishes in Iraq. They remain as the true light of Christ in a land that is flooded with violence. When I think of the money wasted in dioceses in America on foolish things, or even the millions we paid out in lawsuits -- and almost nothing was done for the Catholics suffering in the Mideast. We are united in Communion -- when one suffers, we all do as well. When one sins, it hurts the entire body. When one is martryed, it is for the salvation of many. I'm grateful for California Catholic Daily's coverage of this important story -- to keep these holy people in focus for us all. I hope many will join the rally at noon tomorrow.
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Posted Friday, June 15, 2007 7:21 PM By janet
Thanks for letting me know of this event. I had the time and so I joined the Chaldeans at the Federal Building today. I've been following the persecutions for months now and have wanted to "do something". I've already written to my legislators about this issue and will continue to do so until something is done.
"After the liberation of Iraq in 2003, the average number of murders for the years 2003-2007 was 67, 2827% higher than for the years 1995-2002. The geographic distribution of the murders was 35.54% in north Iraq, 61.67% in central Iraq and 2.79% in south Iraq. Kurds, Sunnis, Shiites and al-Qaeda engaged in murdering Assyrians. Examples included:
*A 2 month old infant kidnapped, beheaded, roasted and returned to its parents on a bed of rice
*14 year old Ayad Tariq decapitated because he is a "dirty Christian sinner"
*A 14 year old boy crucified in his own village in Mosul
*Fr. Paulos Iskander (Paul Alexander) kidnapped, beheaded and dismembered
*5 priests were kidnapped and released after ransom was paid. *3 priests and 3 deacons were murdered, for a total of 11. 5 of these occurred in Baghdad, 6 in Mosul.
*33 churches were attacked or bombed since June, 2004: 23 in Baghdad, 6 in Mosul, 3 in Kirkuk and 1 in Ramadi.
*At least 13 young women were abducted and raped, causing some of them to commit suicide." http://www.aina.org/releases/20070611184337.htm
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