Despite reassurances, minority Christians in Iraq are afraid

Published: 2005-01-21

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Each time a church in Iraq is attacked or a religious figure is threatened or kidnapped, most church leaders there quickly explain that the incident does not signal an assault against Christianity. But Christians in Iraq are afraid. As a tiny minority in an overwhelmingly Muslim nation, Christians enjoyed relative religious freedom under former President Saddam Hussein's otherwise oppressive, though secular, rule. The U.S.-led embargo, then war and occupation of Iraq that toppled Saddam's dictatorship brought further hardship to the people there. Damaged infrastructure and the reigning chaos have altered life for everyone. "Christians live like all people in Iraq, they have the same worries," said the apostolic nuncio to Iraq, Archbishop Fernando Filoni. "But given these attacks, Christians are even more worried; it's understandable the church finds itself in double the difficulty," he told reporters in Rome Jan. 18 between meetings with Vatican officials.

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