Vatican: Pope receives President of Iraqi Kurdistan Barzani

June 7, 2014 By administrator

Pope Francis received Friday Massoud Barzani, president of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan province where there is a very ancient Christian community that has grown with the influx of refugees from the rest of Iraq and Syria, said the Vatican .

While violence peaked in Iraq, more than 4,000 died in violence since the beginning of the year, this autonomous region, after having long been an area of conflict at the time of Saddam Hussein, has become an area safer in a particularly difficult environment.

This is the first time that the Pope received Barzani who is the head of the autonomous region since 2005.

The province of Kurdistan is home to over 200,000 Syrian refugees, including many Kurds but also Christians.

These would be more in the region of 30,000. Among them also Christians who have left Baghdad and other cities further south to find a security, tolerance and greater freedom.

According to Bishop Rabban Al Qas, bishop of Amadiyah-Zahko interviewed by Vatican Radio, he breathes an air of “freedom” in the region, even if it “is not a paradise,” this freedom attracting private entrepreneurs and allowing some economic development.

Pope Francis meets Catholicos Aram I in Vatican

June 5, 2014 By administrator

June 5, 2014 – 16:01 AMT

Pope Francis on Thursday, June 5, met with Aram I, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. The two men also prayed together in the Redemptoris Mater chapel in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican Radio reported.

His Holiness Aram I was also scheduled to visit the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity and other dicasteries of the Roman Curia during his 3-day visit to Rome.

“One month ago, I had the pleasure of receiving His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II. Today I have the joy of welcoming Your Holiness, the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia. Together with you, I give thanks to the Lord for the continued growth of fraternal relations between us. I consider it a true gift from God that we can share this moment of encounter and common prayer,” Pope Francis said.

“Your Holiness’s commitment to the cause of Christian unity is known to all. You have been especially active in the World Council of Churches and you continue to be most supportive of the Middle East Council of Churches, which plays such an important role in assisting the Christian communities of that region as they face numerous difficulties,” he noted.

“Your Holiness represents a part of the Christian world that is irrevocably marked by a history of trials and sufferings courageously accepted for the love of God. The Armenian Apostolic Church has had to become a pilgrim people; it has experienced in a singular way what it means to journey towards the Kingdom of God. The history of emigration, persecutions and the martyrdom experienced by so many of the faithful has inflicted deep wounds on the hearts of all Armenians,” Pope emphasized.

Source: PanARMENIAN.Net

Photo: Armenian Orthodox Church

Abbas to Pope: Israel ousting Christians, Muslims

May 25, 2014 By administrator

The Acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas says Israel is forcing both Muslims and Christians out of East al-Quds (Jerusalem).

Abbas told Pope Francis in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem that Israeli authorities are systematically acting to change East al-Quds’ identity and character.

“We have informed his holiness about the tragic situation in … [East al-Quds]… where Israel is systematically acting to change its identity and character, and strangling the Palestinians, both Christians and Muslims, with the aim of pushing them out,” Abbas said.

For his part, the Catholic Church leader said time is now ripe to end the increasingly unacceptable conflict in the Middle East.

The Pope’s visit to Bethlehem is part of his two-day tour of the Palestinian territories. He made an unscheduled stop at the separation barrier built by Israel in the city.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces have arrested at least 26 people protesting the Pope’s visit to al-Quds.

Israel is facing mounting pressure to rein in a spiraling wave of hate crimes by Israelis, which has been on the rise ahead of the papal visit – mainly in the form of vandalism and graffiti – targeting churches.

The Pope began his tour to the Middle East by visiting Jordan earlier on Saturday.It is Francis’ first visit to the Middle East region since he became pontiff.