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2017-09-22 16:06:52 Views : 941 |

News: Rome Conference on the universal right of the Iraqi Christians’ to return to their ancient homelands



(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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