Bishop Kidnapped in Iraq Dead

[Dominus Fidelis]

They apparently wanted 3 million in ransom.

40 virgins wasn't enough?

 

[Michie]

40 virgins wasn't enough?

I think it is more in the 70+ range.

 

[SecretOfFatima]

Typical Islamic Jihadiis.

Sura 8:65, Sura 4:74, Sura 4:76, Sura 8:39, Sura 2:191, Sura 9:5, Sura 5:33, Sura 9:14, Sura 9:29, Sura 8:60, Sura 8:12, Sura 3:151, Sura 4:47, Sura 5:51, Sura
3:118, Sura 5:72, Sura 5:73, Sura 9:28, etc...


GOD help us.

 

[Michie]

DETROIT (CNS) --

A Chaldean Catholic bishop said the United States must be held accountable for the death of Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq.

Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim of the Eparchy of St. Thomas the Apostle, based in Southfield, Mich., said that particularly the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush is responsible for the terrorism and killing of Christians in Iraq. He said the administration is ignoring the problem.

"No one is defending us," he said March 13, the day the archbishop's body was recovered after kidnappers said where they had buried him. "They are killing Christians because they are Christians."

Bishop Ibrahim said the Feb. 29 kidnapping and subsequent death of the archbishop threw into question the destiny of Christians in Iraq. Three of the archbishop's companions were killed in the kidnapping.

"We know that before the invasion of the Americans in Iraq, (terrorism) was no such a thing," Bishop Ibrahim said. "Christians and Muslims were living together, exactly like brothers and sisters, and that's it. But since the invasion, everything changes."

"Somebody has to be responsible," the bishop said. "Since the Americans are occupying Iraq, they have the responsibility of the security of every Iraqi, and in the first place minorities. I am not saying the Christians only -- but they are doing nothing for them."

He said many Iraqis living in Michigan knew Archbishop Rahho.

"We are from Mosul, all of us," Bishop Ibrahim said.

"He was believing in the fraternity of all humankind," Bishop Ibrahim said of Archbishop Rahho. "He was preaching the forgiveness for everyone. He was preaching to take care of each other, without regards to the faith or the name or the gender."

Bishop Ibrahim said Archbishop Rahho spent his whole life in Mosul and was close to Catholics.

"He was very close to his flock, very close, especially to those who were marginalized -- poor people, handicapped people," he said. "He was very good with the Muslims."

He said the Chaldean Catholic community has planned a March 14 memorial service for Archbishop Rahho at Mother of God Chaldean Catholic Church in Southfield.

The news that the archbishop was killed could force Iraqi Christians underground, said Iraqi Christians in Need, a British-based charity aiding Christian Iraqis.

Suha Rassam, spokeswoman for the charity, said, "The only way for the church in the Mosul area to survive might be if it goes underground, like it did in the first and second centuries. This way, Mass and other services would be held in secret, and priests go about their duties clandestinely."

In a March 13 statement, Rassam said an underground church is not a "situation anyone would want, but the Christian population is living each day in terror of being kidnapped or murdered."

"When the church is facing persecution of this magnitude, then desperate measures might have to be taken," he said.

"Over the last eight months, attacks on Christians have been escalating," he said. "In June Father Ragheed Aziz Ganni and three deacons were murdered, two priests were kidnapped in October, and in January four churches and a convent were bombed."

Chaldean Auxiliary Bishop Andraos Abouna of Baghdad told Aid to the Church in Need March 13: "We are all very sad. Archbishop Rahho was a peaceful man. What we need now is prayer for his soul."

John Pontifex, London-based media officer of the Catholic charity that helps persecuted Christians, said that "firsthand reports given by bishops, priests and laypeople" show that "Christians are now terrified, and this sad news will simply speed up the rate of emigration, which in turn could cause Christianity to be extinguished from the country."

"The martyrdom of Archbishop Rahho will send out the clearest possible signal yet that no Christian is safe in Iraq," he said.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0801432.htm

 

[Romans 13:3]

That is a statement that the Copts, Orthodox, and Catholics can agree upon.

 

[Michie]

Archbishop's Death Brutal Reminder of Jihadi Extremism


"This was no act by ordinary criminals, but rather an act of intimidation by cowards that preyed upon a peaceful man." -- Faith J.H. McDonnell, Director of IRD's Religious Liberty Programs



WASHINGTON, March 13 /Christian Newswire/ --

The body of a Chaldean Catholic archbishop has been discovered following his kidnapping in late February. Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was abducted in the northern city of Mosul by men who killed his driver and two guards.

In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Chaldean church officials said that the Archbishop's captors made "impossible" demands in exchange for his safe return, among them financial support for opposing Americans.



A priest in Mosul told Compass Direct News today that the real motive for impossible ransom demands and the archbishop's killing was to push the Christians out of the city.


"They are pressuring us to leave Mosul and leave our church," said the priest. "And many families in Mosul are afraid, because if they killed the bishops and priests, then…"

IRD Director of Religious Liberty Programs Faith J.H. McDonnell commented:

"The Chaldean Christians, some of the last remaining speakers of Aramaic, the language of Jesus, are suffering under the persecution of Jihadis that seek to drive them from their ancestral homes and create a pure Islamic caliphate erased of the memory of Iraqi Christians.

"Archbishop Rahho's fate is a reminder that extremism is not solely the result of unmet material need – for the church negotiated in good faith to secure Rahho's release – but rather that evil exists in the world and must be confronted.

"Christians in the United States must begin to stand up for the Church in Iraq. In light of the great sacrifice that our country is making to bring freedom and democracy to all of the people of Iraq, the United States government must acknowledge that defenseless Iraqi Christians are particularly singled out in this jihad, and must be protected.

"The Mosul area is known as a hotbed of Islamic extremism. This was no act by ordinary criminals, but rather an act of intimidation by cowards that preyed upon a peaceful infirm man."

http://christiannewswire.com/news/324365979.html

 

[soraya]

What are those lights shooting up in the pictures?

Have no idea.

 

[Tigg]

"Exactly how he died is not clear yet."

I hold the abductors responsible period.

"...and giving Christians a choice between dying, converting to Islam or leaving the town."

Sounds of the Koran I read.

Horrible deaths...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7295145.stm

 

[Tigg]

Even the sky in Iraq is crying you monsignor Faraj .

http://www.ankawa.com/forum/index.php/topic,175340.msg3077823.html#msg3077823

go and enter into the joy of your master.. and pray for us.

Thanks for the link.

 

[IgnatiusOfAntioch]

Eternal rest give unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
Let us pray.
O God, Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful,
grant to the soul of Thy servant Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho the remission of all of his sins,
that through our pious supplication he may obtain that pardon which
he has always desired; who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

 

[Michie]

Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Let us pray.
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful,
grant to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins, that through our pious supplication they may obtain that pardon which they have always desired; who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Amen.

 

[IgnatiusOfAntioch]

That is a statement that the Copts, Orthodox, and Catholics can agree upon.

Actually, if we desert Iraq, that is the fate which will befall millions of Iraqis. Not just the Christians but, as the terrorists have promised, all of those with the 'purple finger' after first killing their children, wives, brothers and sisters and all of their relatives. Those Iraqis who voted are very brave indeed and it will be a tremendous bloodbath should we leave them to the tender mercies of those who butchered Archbishop Rahho.

 

[Epiphanygirl]

My heart breaks for our brethren in the middle east.
Lord, please make hast to send protection to your faithful.Show Thy mercy Lord, hear our prayers

 

[Globalnomad]

May this servant of Allah, rest forever in Salaam al-Maseeh!!!

A Prayer for Fr. Paulos, of Blessed Memory:

God of the spirits and of all flesh, who have trampled death and annihilated the devil and given life to your world, may you yourself, O Lord, grant to the soul of your deceased servant Paulos rest in a place of light, a verdant place, a place of freshness, from where suffering, pain and cries are far removed. Do You, O good and compassionate God forgive every fault committed by him in word, work or thought because there is no man who lives and does not sin. You alone are without sin and your justice is justice throughout the ages and your word is truth. Since you, O Christ our God, are the resurrection, the life and the repose of your deceased servant Paulos, we give you glory together with your un-begotten Father and your most holy, good and life-creating Spirit, now and always and forever and ever. Amen.

Bism ir Abi wal ibni war rough il Qudos. Amin. +

Ya Rabb urham!
Ya Rabb urham!
Ya Rabb urham!

+Al-majdu lil Abi wai ibni war rouh il Qudos. Alana wa kulla awanin wa ila dahr iddahireen. Amin.

Allah yesamehom!

الله يسامحهم

Rahimahullah!!

Bism ir Abi wal ibni war rough il Qudos. Amin. +

Bumping the prayers in Arabic. Why not translate them for us, Knightwolflord? - so we can better pray them together and be reminded of the millions of Christian brothers and sisters who pray to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in Arabic.

Praying for the repose of the soul of Bishop Poulos, and for his persecuted Church.

 

[Tigg]

"Funeral mass for Iraqi archbishop

Christians from across Iraq have been attending the funeral of the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7296353.stm

 

[Michie]

I'm wondering if they'll determine the cause of death.

 

[D'Ann]

"Exactly how he died is not clear yet."

I hold the abductors responsible period.

"...and giving Christians a choice between dying, converting to Islam or leaving the town."

Sounds of the Koran I read.

Horrible deaths...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7295145.stm

I agree. Murderers are murderers. Blaming any one country for what criminals do is just wrong and lopsided imho.

Praying for the ones who were murdered and for the Bishop who was kidnapped and then murdered... Lord help them and their families and friends and parishners.

Eternal rest give unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
Let us pray.
O God, Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful,
grant to the soul of Thy servant Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho the remission of all of his sins,
that through our pious supplication he may obtain that pardon which
he has always desired; who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
Amen.

Amen

I'm wondering if they'll determine the cause of death.

Probably... it might take a week or so... but maybe not... depending on the type of death... I think.

 

[Michie]

I agree. Murderers are murderers. Blaming any one country for what criminals do is just wrong and lopsided imho.

Praying for the ones who were murdered and for the Bishop who was kidnapped and then murdered... Lord help them and their families and friends and parishners.



Amen



Probably... it might take a week or so... but maybe not... depending on the type of death... I think.

Well regardless, I'm sure he would still be with us had this not happened. I was just suprised they buried him so quickly since the actual cause of death has not been determined yet. (As far as we know).

 

[D'Ann]

Well regardless, I'm sure he would still be with us had this not happened. I was just suprised they buried him so quickly since the actual cause of death has not been determined yet. (As far as we know).

I agree with you completely. He would still be here with us and his family, friends and parishners wouldn't be feeling, the sadness and sorrow due to this horrific lost of a good and holy man of God.

Very good point Michie... I wonder what was the cause too.

 

[InTheCloud]

Originally Posted by IgnatiusOfAntioch
Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them.
Let us pray.
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful,
grant to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins, that through our pious supplication they may obtain that pardon which they have always desired; who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Amèn.
I would like to see if among us evangelicals circles they will be outrage and support towards the Iraqui Catholic/Orthodox/Coptics christians persecution or they will be keeping quiet because apostolic Christians are not True Christians(TM) like US evangelicals. And they will keep sending missionaries to convert the troubled Iraqui Christians to True Christianity (R) instead.