His Excellency Iraqi Archbishop Bashar Warda in a speech at Georgetown University, conveyed that without an end to the persecution and violence against Christians, there is no future for religious pluralism in Iraq or anywhere else in the Middle East for that matter. His Grace Archbishop spoke of the state of Christianity in Iraq today and what both Muslim and Western leaders can do to help protect religious minorities and rebuild their communities.
As reported by CNA, His Excellency Archbishop Warda remarked that “We Christian people, who have endured persecution in patience and faith for 1,400 years now face an existential struggle. It is possibly the last struggle that we will face in Iraq. In a single night, ISIS took nearly everything from the bishop’s flock, leaving them without shelter, without refuge, without work, without properties, without monasteries, without the ability to participate in any of the things that give our lives dignity. And, yet, we are still there, scourged, wounded, yet still there.”
When speaking of the suffering of his people, the Archbishop also spoke of forgiveness. His Grace Archbishop Warda highlighted that “We forgive those who murdered us, who tortured us, who raped us, who sought to destroy everything about us. We forgive them in the name of Christ.” His Excellency Archbishop Warda also called on Catholics in the West for spiritual, moral, political, and material support for Iraqi Christians as they rebuild.
