Christians not persecuted, but hearts filled with fear, Bishop Warduni says

Baghdad (AsiaNews) – "Today's circumstances instill fear in people and their future is unknown. But everything is in the Lord's hands and we trust him with our country's future," said Shlimon Warduni, bishop of the Catholic Chaldean Church of Baghdad when interviewed by AsiaNews today.

After yesterday's assassination of Shiite Muslim PGC head, Izzadine Salim, the bishop said that Catholics have "prayed for the interim Provisional Governing Council president's eternal peace and rest."  

Below are the bishop's answers to the questions posed by AsiaNews.

Your Excellency, how are Christians reacting to these tragic moments in Iraq's history?

There is no difference between Christians and Muslims. We are all suffering the same problems, we are all Iraqis. War, sniper fire and car bombs do not discriminate. We are all living in times of uncertainty, terror and constant worry.

We have just finished saying the rosary, in this Marian month of May, and it grieves me to say that compared to the same time last year, our church is nearly empty.

People are afraid to leave their houses. They fear for their own lives and, thus, prefer to pray at home. We have prayed the for the eternal rest of PGC interim president, who was assassinated yesterday. He was a man who loved peace.

Are Christians being persecuted and are there acts of intolerance toward them?

Absolutely not. With respect to months ago, there have been no more forms of discrimination. Pain, uncertainty and fear have united the people of Iraq.

People go to church less now not out of fear of being persecuted, but because they share the same fear all Iraqis. They do not leave their homes unless it is totally necessary. The situation (now) is quite critical. The country is suffering. There is war and conflict everywhere in Nassiriya, Bassora and in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. We cannot remain insensitive to all this. Even us (Christians) live in this country, where we were all born.      

Are people afraid that Iraq will become another Iran?

I don't want to talk about the future, much less make predictions about it. Only God knows what lays ahead. Yet we hope and trust God that this will never happen.

Today's circumstances instill fear in people and their future is unknown. But everything is in the Lord's hands and we trust him with our country's future. As Catholics, we pray that peace and harmony will reign throughout all of Iraqi society.

• iraq
• religious
• persecution
• christians