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July 21, 2015

Priest finds frustrations build among Christians in Iraq camp

Father Bashar Kthea, 39, a Syriac Catholic priest, poses for a photo July 17 in Irbil, Iraq. Initially living in his car after fleeing the town of Qaraqosh, Iraq, last August, when Islamic State forces overran it, he now ministers in a camp for displaced Christians in a Kurdish-controlled part of the country.

MANCHESTER, England - When the Islamic State overran the Iraqi town of Qaraqosh last August, one of the priests there jumped into his car and joined the exodus of Christians on the road east in the hope of reaching the safety of Kurdish-controlled territory.

Published in International
June 10, 2015

Chaldean Tariq Aziz, top official in Saddam's regime, dead

Iraq's former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz appears before an Iraqi tribunal in Baghdad in 2004. Aziz, 79, died of a heart attack June 5.

WASHINGTON - Tariq Aziz, a Chaldean Catholic who represented Iraqi strongman Saddam Hussein's government on the world stage as foreign minister and deputy prime minister, died June 5 after suffering a heart attack.

Published in International
May 7, 2015

Iraq without Christians is not Iraq, cardinal told

Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, speaks with displaced Iraqis May 4 in Irbil, Iraq.

IRBIL, Iraq - The head of the Vatican's Congregation for Eastern Churches visited Iraq to convey Pope Francis' blessing and concern for Church officials and the displaced living and working in difficult circumstances.

Published in International