(A resident of Qaraqosh returns home to see what’s left of his house severely damaged by IS © Aid to the Church in Need)
ishtartv.com
- ACN News
By
Maria Lozano, Friday, 22nd September 2017
•
The Pontifical Foundation, Aid to the Church in Need, brings together leading
representatives of the Vatican and the Iraqi Christian community to claim their
universal right to return to the Nineveh Plains.
On
Thursday, September 28th at 9 a.m., the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church
in Need (ACN) will host a conference “Return to the Roots - the international
effort supporting the return of the Iraqi Christian to their villages in the
Nineveh Plains” - in the Pontifical Lateranense University in Rome.
Leading
representatives of the Vatican and the Iraqi Christian community including
Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I
Sako, the Syrian-Orthodox archbishop of Mosul Nicodemus Daoud Sharaf, the
apostolic nuncio to Iraq and Jordan Archbishop Alberto Ortega Martins and the
Syrian-Catholic archbishop of Mosul Youhanna Petros Mouche – will address the
successes and ongoing challenges confronting the last remaining Christian
community in northern Iraq.
Violently
driven from their homes by ISIS three years ago, the recent liberation of the
Christian villages has sparked the desire of the Christian families to return
from the Kurdish regional capital of Erbil to their war torn homes in the
Nineveh Plains. ACN, responding to their appeal, is supporting the first phase
of the reconstruction of over 13,000 damaged and destroyed homes. In view of
the mammoth task ahead, however, ACN is calling on the international community
to join forces in supporting the continued Christian presence in Iraq and thus
assuring the plurality of Iraqi society.
Presided
by ACN’s International President, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, presentations will
include that of Cardinal Parolin addressing the Vatican position to the
Christians in Iraq and the Middle East, an analysis by Archbishop Ortega of the
larger regional situation, His Beatitude Patriarch Sako on the day-to-day
situation confronting the Iraqi Christian IDP’s, Fr. Andrew Halemba Chairman of
the Nineveh Reconstruction Committee (NRC) on the ongoing reconstruction
project and return, and Steven Rashe NRC spokesman highlighting the ever
present security challenges such as de-mining, Christian militia’s and
conflicted political environment.
The
ACN conference will be attended by government representatives, business
leaders, ambassadors accredited to the Holy See and international charitable
organizations interested in the latest information from the ground concerning
the ongoing reconstruction and return – all amidst the tense political,
religious and social climate in the country.
Since
2014 to date, ACN has spent $(US)36.6 million to house, feed and provide
pastoral support to the Christian IDP’s in northern Iraq. The estimated cost
for rebuilding the Christian villages is $(US)250 million.
Following
the presentations a press conference will take place at 12:00 noon in a
neighboring conference room, the Sala Papa Francesco (Pontifical Lateranense
University) allowing journalists the opportunity to address questions directly
to the speakers.
The
conference (Sala Pio XI) and the press conference (Sala Papa Francesco) will
take place at the Pontifical Lateranense University, Piazza San Giovanni in
Laterano 4, Rome.
For
press accreditation, please send an email to Maria Lozano, ACN International
Head of Press at press@acn-intl.org. The deadline is Wednesday 27th at 10 a.m.
TV crews are also requested to provide ID’s numbers and birth dates for
accreditation.
Editor’s
Notes
Directly
under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever
they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity –
helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.
The
charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing
transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings,
funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the
initiative’s launch in 1979, Aid to the Church in Need’s Child’s Bible – God
Speaks to his Children has been translated into 172 languages and 50 million
copies have been distributed all over the world.
While
ACN gives full permission for the media to freely make use of the charity’s press
releases, please acknowledge ACN as the source of stories when using the
material.
For
more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in
Need, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail:
info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 7246 Baulkham
Hills NSW 2153.
On
Line donations can be made at www.aidtochurch.org
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