Artvoice Blogs » Echo Chamber: New You Could Have Read Anywhere

As you read down, you find this interesting item. It has been my understanding that Islam, like Christianity, has numerous divisions.

"Islam has surpassed Catholicism as the world’s leading religion,
according to Vatican officials. Roman Catholics account for 17.4 percent (1.1 billion) of the world’s population, while Muslims comprise 19.2 percent (1.3 billion), a number that continues to rise. The total for all Christians of all denominations is roughly 2.1 billion, or a third of the world’s population. “For the first time in history, we are no longer at the top: Muslims have overtaken us,” said Monsignor Vittorio Formenti. He, of course, was neglecting the first 200,000 years of human history when he made that statement."

Christians in Iraq

Although this article is long, it deserves reading and thoughtful reaction. The Catholic Church in the United States ought to be protesting the continuation of the killing. The article is in the last issue of our diocean newspaper, The Catholic Voice.

The
Catholic Voice - an online publication of the Roman Catholic Diocese of
Oakland: "Chaldean bishop: U.S. accountable
for death of Iraqi
archbishop


Women cry as they attend a memorial Mass for Chaldean
Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq, at a church in Baghdad March 18.

CNS photo/Thaier al-Sudani, Reuters
By Joe Kohn
Catholic News
Service
DETROIT (CNS) — A Chaldean Catholic bishop said the United States
must be held accountable for the death of Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq.

Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim of the Eparchy of St. Thomas
the Apostle, based in Southfield, Mich., said that particularly the
administration of U.S. President George W. Bush is responsible for the terrorism and killing of Christians in Iraq. He said the administration is ignoring the problem."

A Point of View

The law of unintented consequences ls certainly at play.

(CBS) -- An Anglican
clergyman in Baghdad, who has seen his flock murdered and forced into exile by Muslim extremists, says Christians there are worse off now than under Saddam's rule and are probably suffering more than any time in history. The Rev. Canon Andrew White, an Anglican priest known as the "Vicar of Baghdad," speaks to 60 Minutes' Scott Pelley for a segment on the persecution of Christians in Iraq to be broadcast this Sunday, Dec. 2, at 7 p.m. ET/PT. "There's no comparison between Iraq now and [under Saddam]," says White. "Things are the most difficult they have ever been for Christians - probably ever in history," he tells Pelley, referring to the nearly 2,000 years of Christian history in the area. That's because White estimates that 90 percent of Iraq's Christians, once thought to number over a million, have either
fled or have been murdered by Islamic extremists during the religious civil war.
That includes his own church leaders and most of the men of his parish. "They are mainly killed. Some are kidnapped," says White.
"Here in this church, all of my leadership were originally taken and
killed." Their bodies were never recovered. "This is one of the
problems. I regularly do funerals here, but it's not easy to get the
bodies," White tells Pelley.
White invited 60 Minutes cameras to an underground Baghdad service for what's left of his congregation, mostly the old, the ill, and those who cannot afford to flee. The purge is almost complete in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad, once a Christian stronghold, and the recent surge of American troops also has stemmed some of the violence. "I don't see a lot of [Christian murder victims] anymore," says Army Col. Rick Gibbs. "But when we first arrived, we saw lots of that. It would not surprise my soldiers to walk down a street on patrol and see three or four bodies laying in the street with a bullet behind their head," says Gibbs.

At the height of the violence, churches were bombed and the Army did not guard them, Gibbs says. "[Christians] feel that if we are overtly protecting the churches, that someone underground covertly will come in and murder the Christians because they are collaborating with the U.S. forces," Gibbs tells Pelley. It all started after the invasion, says a young Christian who did not want to be identified. "[Muslim extremists] were telling us that Christians were against Islam, that we're infidels, that women shouldn't drive and that a woman who doesn't wear a head scarf should get her head cut off," he says. "I thought, 'What are we, going back to the Middle Ages?'"
It's all happening because religion can go wrong, says White. "When religion goes wrong, it kills others. [Islam] has [gone wrong] and in the past, Christianity has gone wrong," he says.

Controversy as France says it will take in 500 Iraqi Christians : Europe World

A slightly different point of view.

Paris - A French government announcement that it will grant asylum to 500 Iraqi Christians stirred controversy Saturday, with opponents warning it amounted to discrimination against Moslems. "The situation is very difficult for the Moslems, too, but the Christians have a particularly difficult time," said Troyes Bishop Marc Stenger in defence of the move.
Several aid agencies had earlier criticised the government decision to grant the 500 asylum in the coming weeks. "It is risky showing preference to refugees on the strength of their religion," said Pierre Henry, head of the France Terre d'Asile organisation. Stenger, whose remarks were published in the edition of le Monde due out
Sunday, visited Christian communities in northern Iraq last month.
He said half the 700,000-strong community there was already fleeing, and the situation had only worsened since the abduction and murder of Iraqi Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho.

The offer of asylum was meanwhile being taken up with mixed
feelings by the Iraqi Christians, according to the Syrian Bishop of Mosul quoted by France Inter radio. He said moving away was "moving away from ourselves", and the congregations would be sending mainly younger people who could later help the rebuilding process in their homeland. ontroversy as France says it will take in 500 Iraqi Christians :

Iraq’s Christians Living Out the Passion this Easter

Iraq’s Christians Living Out the Passion this Easter

Although article is lengthy, it is worth reading.

Catholic World News : Al Qaida threat cites Pope

Maybe it is time to bring back the crusades!

"Al Qaida threat cites Pope
Vatican, Mar. 20, 2008 (CWNews.com) -
The head of the Al Qaida terrorist network charged that Pope Benedict XVI
(bio - news) is leading a 'crusade' against Islam, and vowed retribution, in a
taped message released on the 5th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Christians in Iraq

By listening to TV news and comentary as well as most newspapers, you would never know that most of the Christians in Iraq have left, become homeless or died. The Archbishop was killed a week ago. The persecution is carried out by the same folks our President expects to create a "peaceful, democratic" country. Pray for their safety.

Actor Martin Sheen named recipient of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal - Catholic Online

Actor Martin Sheen named recipient of Notre Dame's Laetare Medal - Catholic Online

It is always uplifting to know that even a celebrity like Sheen is recognized for actions of the heart.