(Germany) – A dramatic call for help for the survival of Christians in the Middle East has been made to Germans by the Iraqi Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil, mgr. Bashar Warda.
“By the end of next month, it must be decided if, after 2000 years of living in Iraq, Christianity has a future or will die out, except perhaps for small remains fit for a museum”, the Archbishop of Iraqi Kurdistan said in Fulda yesterday to the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the German Bishops Conference.
In Iraq, the number of Christians has dramatically decreased from 1.4 million to maybe less than 300 thousand. The Chaldean prelate thanked the German Catholics for their help, which makes Christians in Iraq have the greatest financial support than any other country.
The director of the World Church and Migrants Commission at the secretariat of the Bishops Conference, Ulrich Pöner, said that the Bishops Conference and the charitable and aid agencies have allocated about 42 million euros for 2015 in support of Christians in the Middle East. Mgr. Warda pointed out that, with such support, new reasons may be given to Christians in Iraq to have the strength to stay in their homes, instead of fleeing to Europe: dignified housing, basic healthcare and schools need to be provided to give them an education and jobs.
(AgenSir, 21 settembre 2016)
