Pope Condemns Attacks on Iraqi Churches

Vatican City – Pope John Paul II recently condemned the bombing of two churches in Iraq, the latest in a series of attacks against the Christian community.

''I ask the Lord for the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin, so that dear Iraqi people can finally come to know a time of reconciliation and peace,'' the 84–year–old Pope told thousands of pilgrims packed into St Peter's Square.

Gunmen attacked two churches in the tense northern Iraqi city of Mosul on December 7, in the latest violence directed against one of Iraq's several religious and ethnic groups.

Members of the churches, one Armenian, the other Chaldean, said gunmen burst in, forced people to leave and set off explosions inside the buildings. No one was hurt in the attacks.

In the meanwhile, many Iraqi Christians have cancelled Christmas services for fear of attacks, a leading Christian politician said recently.

According to Yonadam Kanna, a member of the Iraqi Interim National Council, the Christian community in Iraq would thereby show its solidarity with the victims of recent attacks on churches and monasteries.

Celebrations to mark the New Year were also cancelled, he said.

Iraq's 650,000 Christians – mostly Chaldeans, Assyrians and Catholics – comprise about 3 percent of the population. Many have left Iraq and the Vatican fears more will go if the attacks go on.