Archbishop kidnapped

[Tpr.Orange]

[ Article ]

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Iraqi Catholic archbishop of Mosul was kidnapped Monday in what the Vatican (news - web sites) called an "act of terrorism."

Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66, was believed to be the highest-ranking Catholic prelate to be abducted in Iraq (news - web sites), where the local church has been the target of a bombing campaign which has rattled the tiny Christian minority.


"We have received news of the kidnapping of the ... Archbishop of Mosul, Basile Georges Casmoussa," Chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told Reuters. He gave no details of the abduction.


"The Holy See deplores this act of terrorism in the firmest manner and demands that the worthy pastor is swiftly freed unharmed to continue to carry out his ministry," he said.


Christians make up some 3 percent of Iraq's population of about 25 million and have traditionally kept a relatively low profile, mindful of their precarious position in an overwhelmingly Muslim society.


A spate of bombs have hit churches and hospitals in the past few months, leaving numerous dead and injured.


Iraq's 650,000 Christians are mostly Chaldeans, Assyrians and Catholics. Many have left Iraq and the Vatican fears more will go.


Last month the Vatican's foreign minister warned that anti-Christian feeling was spreading in Iraq and other Muslim countries because the war on terrorism was seen as linked to Western political strategy.


Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican's second-ranking diplomat, said anti-Christian feeling existed where political strategies of Western countries were believed to be driven by Christianity.


Washington justified invading Iraq by saying Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) had developed weapons of mass destruction and claiming there were links between Baghdad and al Qaeda. No such weapons have been found nor hard evidence of pre-war al Qaeda links.


Pope John Paul (news - web sites) strongly opposed the invasion.


Casmoussa is a member of the Syrian Catholic church, an ancient rite present mostly in the Middle East.


There are two Syrian Catholic dioceses in Iraq -- one in Baghdad and the other in Mosul.


According to the Vatican yearbook, Casmoussa was born in the Iraqi city of Qaraqosh.

It's interesting that the vatican during the conflict in iraq, wasn't to happy with the US.. Its going to be interesting to see what the vatican thinks of them now that this occured.

 

[Wizard of OZ]

link was not working or my computer is just dumb.  Never the operator never. 

So what was the scope did they blame the Americans or what?

 

[Big Foot]

I don't think the Vatican is blaming to Americans for this happening, nor do i think they are blaming the government of Iraq. Simply put, being a Christian in that region, even in the best of times, can be dicey. The Islamic extremists feel the need to attack "infidels" despite the fact the Koran states that you must respect people of the book (eg: Jews and Christians). Islam, in its non-fanatical form, is a very peaceful religion. To look solely at the actions of these murderous Islamic extremists would be akin to taking the actions of the Protestant Orange Order or the Irish Republican Army to represent the views of their respective churches. This is a fact not lost on the Vatican and therefore, they will not pass judgement on the Americans for this incident. Sad yes, but look at it this way, would it have happened even if the Americans had not invaded? Sadly, yes. Events like this are inevitable where religious fanaticism incites hatred and fear. It is a sad fact of life.

 

[Tpr.Orange]

I wasn't implying that the Vatican was going to stay mad at the US infact i think your going to hear a little bit more praise towards their work if the archbishop is recovered.

 

[Big Foot]

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/01/18/iraq/index.html

Kidnapped archbishop freed in Iraq
MOSUL, Iraq (CNN) -- A Catholic archbishop has been released one day after he was kidnapped in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the Vatican confirmed Tuesday.

No ransom was paid for the release of Basil George Casmoussa, a spokesman for the Vatican in Rome said. There were reports that the kidnappers used his cell phone to demand a $200,000 ransom for the 66-year-old archbishop.

Monsignor Tomas Hadid, a spokesman for the Vatican embassy in Baghdad, said he had spoken to Casmoussa after he was released and said he's "grateful to God" for the archbishop's release.

Casmoussa was outside a private residence on a main road in al-Muhendisin, in Mosul, when he was abducted Monday, said Kahsro Goran, deputy governor of Nineveh province.

Iraqi officials said the kidnappers used two cars.

Casmoussa, an Iraqi, lives in a neighborhood east of Mosul called Qaraqos, Goran said.

Christians are a minority in Iraq, which is 97 percent Muslim. But thousands of Christians live in the Mosul area.

There have been several recent attacks on Christian targets in Iraq, including the bombings of several churches.