Kidnapped archbishop found dead in Iraq (click here)
3/14/2008 11:54:00 AM.
Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop in Iraq who was kidnapped last month, has been found dead.
"Archbishop Rahho is dead. We found his lifeless body near Mosul. The kidnappers had buried him," Bishop Shlemon Warduni of Baghdad was quoted as telling SIR, the news agency of the Italian Bishops Conference.Rahho was seized on March 29 after gunmen attacked his car in eastern Mosul, 390 kilometres north of Baghdad, killing his driver and two guards.The news of Rahho's death will shock and sadden Australia's Catholic clergy, World Youth Day media spokesman Jim Hanna told AAP.Earlier, before Rahho's death was reported, Australian Cardinal George Pell expressed the solidarity of Australian Catholics with the church in Iraq.The Catholic Bishops of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory had released a statement deploring Rahho's abduction and calling for his immediate release.Speaking on behalf of the bishops, Cardinal Pell said the abduction of anyone was a horrible crime, but the kidnapping of a respected and significant community leader such as Rahho was particularly deplorable.The Bishops had called for prayers for Rahho."The Catholic Bishops of NSW and ACT ask Catholic parishes throughout Australia to pray for the release of Archbishop Rahho, especially during Holy Week, which commences this Sunday," Cardinal Pell said in the bishop's statement."We also ask christians everywhere to pray for the Iraqi christian community in Australia at this time, and to continue to pray for peace in Iraq."
Letters seek remorse for war, urge pope to confront Bush (click here)
Catholic activists ask pope to tell Bush to end Iraq War while in U.S.
By PATRICIA ZAPOR
Catholic News Service
Washington
More than 3,000 people, many involved in the Catholic Worker Movement and peace activism, have signed a letter to Pope Benedict asking him to call for an immediate end to the Iraq War during his U.S. visit in April.
Another statement circulating among faith leaders marks the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq March 19 with a call to repentance for "the sin of this war."
The letter to the pope asks him to reconsider his plans and refuse to meet with President George W. Bush until the Iraq War, which the pope has opposed, is ended....
