Scottish Catholic Observer

Cardinal Fernando Filoni (above right), Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, visited the country on a humanitarian mission and briefed the Holy Father on his return. “He was very attentive,” the cardinal said. “[Pope Francis] let me speak at length. He took to heart all the situations I spoke about; the expectations of our Christians and their worries, as well as the approach taken by the local churches.”

The situation in Iraq continues to fluctuate, as government forces battle with Islamic State (IS) militants, whose persecution of Christian and other minorities has resulted in more than a million people fleeing their homes. Last week, the United Nations called for action to prevent a further massacre in the north of the country.

Cardinal Filoni spent a week in Iraq and has spoken about the desperate situation for people there. “A mother showed me her little three month girl, saying that while they were fleeing from Mosul, the baby’s gold earrings were removed,” he said. “The object in itself is not important, but that violence also expresses contempt towards the little ones. I said: they have removed the earrings, but the most precious things are still with you: your child and your dignity.”

The cardinal went on to speak about the difficulties of helping those in need through military action. “The Church… is and will always be against war,” he said. “But these poor people have the right to be defended. They have no weapons; they have been driven out from their homes in a cowardly way. They have not engaged the enemy

Last week a Catholic charity spoke out against the atrocities and the pressure on the faith of those affected.

Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of Caritas Internationalis, has written to the charity’s representative in Iraq, Bishop Shlemon Warduni, and to Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako.

“With great dismay we see images of people who literally have been robbed of every last possession and now have no means to buy food or attend to their basic needs,” he said. “How can members of the same family inflict such atrocities on their own people in the name of religion? Or is it rather the manipulation of ruthless greed for power that inflicts such ruthless violence on so many innocent people? We send our love, support and solidarity… Finally, we in Caritas join our voices to yours as we advocate with religious and civil leaders, at local, national, regional, and global levels, to ensure that the safety of affected people concerned is put at the forefront, that the rule of law is recognised and enforced, and that no more weapons reach those committing such crimes against human life and dignity.”

—Read the full version of this story in August 29 edition of the SCO in parishes from Friday.