8-November-2004 -- EWTNews Brief
ZURICH, Switzerland, November 8 (CNA) - An Iraqi
archbishop said Islamists will not drive Christians out of Iraq because of their
strong Christian faith.
But Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of Irkuk in North Iraq warned the
congregation at St. Mary's Coronation Parish in Zurich that the same may not be
true in Europe.
"Be cautious," he said. "That's what may happen to you in
Europe, since indifferentism is prevalent here."
The prelate's recent trip to the Zurich was organized by the Swiss section of
the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).
Commenting on the current situation in his native country, Archbishop Sako
stated: "War is never good. ...[But] without the U.S.-led intervention, the
whole Middle East would have been destabilized. Islamists would control the
country," he said.
He called on Catholics everywhere to protest whenever Christians in Iraq
suffer from Muslim fundamentalists' attacks.
"Recently, when five churches in Baghdad were bombed, there was
practically no reaction in the West," he noted. "Support us, for this
is the best missionary work you can do.
"We know the country as well as its people. We are open-minded and
strong in the faith, which we are passing on," he said. "We can help
make Iraq a democratic, pluralistic nation."