(RAMADAN Sep 13 – Oct 13)

Orissa, India

December 24-25

Worst anti-Christian violence in India for 60 years hits Orissa at Christmas

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Hindu extremists launched a spate of violent but meticulously planned attacks on Christians in Kanhdamal District, Orissa State, on 24 and 25 December 2007. A total of 95 churches were burnt to the ground, as well as 730 homes of Christians. In cases where a Christian ministry operated from rented premises owned by a Hindu, the attackers were careful not to damage the building, but took all the contents outside and set them on fire. The death toll is unknown at the time of writing, but taking into account all known cases of “arson, murder and assault” the violence was, in the words of the All India Christian Council, “the largest attack on the Christian community in the history of democratic India”.

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The attackers – members of the VHP (Vishwa Hindu Panishad) – were armed with guns, knives, trishuls (trident-like spears), home-made bombs and other weapons. They shouted slogans including: “Only Hindus to stay here – no Christians to stay here”, “Christians must become Hindu or die” and “Kill Christians”. At least nine Christians were killed. The reason the complete death toll is proving hard to ascertain is partly because the VHP have been assiduously hiding/destroying the bodies of their victims in order to prevent numbers being known. Another reason is that many Christians fled into the forest or to other villages, so some of those missing may still be alive. Those who have emerged from the forest already have spoken of the hardships and dangers they faced there, such as cold (5C at night), lack of food and especially water, and wandering tigers and bears. Most of the Christians were Dalits, a very low status group in Indian society.

Many Christians have reported how the police stood by, watching the carnage without trying to intervene. The only exception was a Christian police officer in Balliguda town who warned church leaders in Barkhama village on 24 December to run for their lives. The next day he was transferred.

In several places the VHP attackers were at pains not just to destroy but also to desecrate. At a church in Bamunigaon, they carefully took out the communion cups and all associated materials and crushed them under their feet. In Barkhama, where seven congregations had joined together for a combined open-air Christmas Eve service on church land, the VHP cremated the body of an elderly Hindu (who had died of natural causes) in front of the open air pulpit.

In Kutikia a small church was attacked and its minister and 12 church members taken to a field where their heads were shaved because they refused to deny Christ. Then they were ordered to eat raw rice mixed with goats’ blood so as to become Hindus.

Please help our Indian brothers and sisters in Orissa at their time of need

Barnabas Fund is helping the victims of the Orissa Christmas attacks with food, clothes and temporary shelter. This is an immediate and urgent need for thousands of Christians who have been made homeless or lost their means of earning a living.

At a later stage it will be necessary to rebuild houses and churches, and to enable those who lost their livelihood to set up small businesses to support themselves. Initial estimates indicate that the average cost of building a village church will be around £3,000 (US$6,000; €4,200) and the average cost of building a village house will be around £1,400 (US$2,800; €1,960).

April 18

Malatya, Turkey

Tilman, Necati, and Ugar

CWN NEWS VIDEO

Born into an Islamic family, Necati (NEH-JAH-TEE) converted to Christianity in 1994.

“His family was so upset about his conversion,” Shemsa said. “They even put a gun to his head and asked him to recant. But he did not.”

Sitting in the audience that Easter morning were five Muslim men who had befriended Necati. According to Turkish authorities, the men wanted to know more about Christianity.

“They were pretending to be seekers,” said Pastor Ihsan Ozbek.

Ten days later, on April 18, the men’s true intensions would unravel in a brutal attack that would shake Turkey’s tiny Christian community.

The five men stormed into Necati’s office on the fourth floor of a building.

Holy Martyr Necati of Malayta

Armed with kitchen knives, the men tied up Necati and two other Christians, 46-year-old German citizen Tilman Geske and 32-year-old Ugur Yuksel, another Turkish convert from Islam.

Tilman and Susanna moved to Malatya in 1997. They knew that living here wasn’t going to be easy. The city has deep Islamist and nationalistic

roots. Anti-Christian sentiments run high here.

Ugur Yuksel experienced the tension in 2005 when protestors stood outside the same building, accusing him and other believers of using a publishing company to distribute Bibles.

Shemsa said, “The Bible tells us that when we accept Jesus into our lives, we must be willing to count the cost.”

What happened next is still under investigation. But authorities tell us that for two hours the men were repeatedly tortured.

Susanna said, “He had lots and lots of bruises. He must have been beaten up a lot.”

“During the torture, the men forced our husbands to recite Islamic prayers to try and get them to renounce their Christian faith,” Shemsa said.

Police were dispatched to the scene after getting calls from a nearby office about suspicious activity.

As soon as the suspects heard the police coming, they decided to end the lives of the three Christians.

“They cut their throats!” Ozbek said.

When the police burst through the door, they found the three with their hands and legs tied to chairs. Tilman and Necati were dead, their throats slit open.

The suspects reportedly told investigators that they killed the men in defense of Islam. All five were carrying a letter that read: “This should serve as a lesson to the enemies of our religion. We did it for our country.”

When asked if she considered her husband a martyr for Christ, Susanna said, “Yes, I do. I think he died for the sake of Christ.and I can tell this to my kids and they’ll know their father died for Jesus.”

Holy Martyr Tilman and Family

“I miss him a lot, but I know that my father is up in heaven having fun with Tilman and Ugur!” said 7-year-old Elisha, son of Necati.

The attack was the third against Christians in Turkey. A Catholic priest and a prominent Armenian journalist were killed in the last 12 months.

“Our prayer is that their blood will be seed of the church,” Shemsa said.

Christians make up less than one percent of Turkey’s 70 million people. The rest are Muslims. Evangelicals are an even smaller minority, numbering less than 3,500. Most of them are converts from Islam.

The situation for Christians has gotten worse in the last couple of years, especially after repeated negative stories about them in the national media.

Turkey is a secular country. Freedom of religion is guaranteed under the constitution. But some fear the country is edging towards a religious state ruled by radical Islamists.

A few days after their deaths, Susanna and Shemsa publicly forgave their husband’s killers. It was an act that stunned the community and drew national attention.

Shemsa said, “We forgive them because Jesus forgave us.”

“And He said we should love our enemies,” Susanna said.

Susanna says her husband found comfort in the words of the prophet Isaiah. His last journal entry quoted Isaiah 61:1-3. Those words bring comfort and hope to the family he left behind, and a resolve to stay and finish the work.

Susanna then read the Scriptures,”The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach Good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives.They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.”

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http://www.persecution.com/news/index.cfm?action=fullstory&newsID=511

On April 18, five Muslims entered a Christian publishing company and killed three believers in the southeastern province of Malatya.

Two of the victims were Turkish converts from Islam and the third man was a German citizen who had lived in Turkey for 10 years.

News reports said four of the attackers admitted that the killings were motivated by both “nationalist and religious feelings.”

Below is a letter received by The Voice of the Martyrs from a church in Turkey. The Voice of the Martyrs has already been actively involved in assisting the families of these courageous Christians. We encourage you to pray for them as they grieve, and to pray that this will be a significant turning point for the gospel in Turkey.

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write… “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” (Rev. 2: 8-11) Pray that God will use the testimony of our brothers, who were faithful until death, to build His Kingdom.

A letter to the Global Church from the Protestant Church of Smyrna

This past week has been filled with much sorrow. Many of you have heard by now of our devastating loss here in an event that took place in Malatya, a Turkish province 300 miles northeast of Antioch, the city where believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).

On Wednesday morning, April 18, 2007, 46 year old German Christian and father of three Tilmann Geske prepared to go to his office, kissing his wife goodbye and taking a moment to hug his son and give him the priceless memory, “Goodbye, son. I love you.”

Tilmann rented an office space from Zirve Publishing. Zirve was also the location of the Malatya Evangelist Church office. A ministry of the church, Zirve prints and distributes Christian literature to Malatya and nearby cities in Eastern Turkey.

In another area of town, 35 year old Pastor Necati Aydin, father of two, said goodbye to his wife, leaving for the office as well. They had a morning Bible Study and prayer meeting that some other believers in town would also be attending.

Ugur Yuksel likewise made his way to the Bible study. None of these three men knew that what awaited them at the Bible study was the ultimate testing and application of their faith, which would conclude with their entrance into glory to receive their crown of righteousness from Christ and honor from all the saints awaiting them in the Lord’s presence.

On the other side of town, ten young men all under 20 years old put into place final arrangements for their ultimate act of faith, living out their love for Allah and hatred of infidels who they felt undermined Islam.

On Resurrection Sunday, five of these men had been to a by-invitation-only evangelistic service that Pastor Necati and his men had arranged at a hotel conference room in the city. The men were known to the believers as “seekers.”

No one knows what happened in the hearts of those men as they listened to the gospel. Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were they convicted of sin? Did they hear the gospel in their heart of hearts? Today we only have the beginning of their story. These young men, one of whom is the son of a mayor in the Province of Malatya, are part of a tarikat, or a group of “faithful believers” in Islam.

Tarikat membership is highly respected here; it’s like a fraternity membership. In fact, it is said that no one can get into public office without membership in a tarikat. These young men all lived in the same dorm, all preparing for university entrance exams. The young men got guns, bread knives, ropes and towels ready for their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be a lot of blood.

They arrived in time for the Bible Study, around 10 o’clock. They arrived, and apparently the Bible Study began. Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault began. The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilmann’s hands and feet to chairs and as they videoed their work on their cellphones, they brutally tortured our brothers for almost three hours. Neighbors in workplaces near the print house said later they had heard yelling, but assumed the owners were having a domestic argument so they did not respond.

Meanwhile, another believer Gokhan and his wife had a leisurely morning. He slept in till 10, ate a long breakfast and finally around 12:30 he and his wife arrived at the office. The door was locked from the inside, and his key would not work. He phoned and though it had connection on his end he did not hear the phone ringing inside. He called cell phones of his brothers and finally Ugur answered his phone. “We are not at the office. Go to the hotel meeting. We are there. We will come there,” he said cryptically.

As Ugur spoke Gokhan heard in the telephone’s background weeping and a strange snarling sound. He phoned the police, and the nearest officer arrived in about five minutes. He pounded on the door, “Police, open up!” Initially the officer thought it was a domestic disturbance. At that point they heard another snarl and a gurgling moan.

The police understood that sound as human suffering, prepared the clip in his gun and tried over and over again to burst through the door. One of the frightened assailants unlocked the door for the policeman, who entered to find a grisly scene.

Tilmann and Necati had been slaughtered. Ugur’s throat was likewise slit and he was barely alive. Three assailants in front of the policeman dropped their weapons.

Meanwhile Gokhan heard a sound of yelling in the street. Someone had fallen from their third story office. Running down, he found a man on the ground, whom he later recognized, named Emre Gunaydin. He had massive head trauma and, strangely, was snarling. He had tried to climb down the drainpipe to escape, and losing his balance had plummeted to the ground. It seems that he was the main leader of the attackers. Another assailant was found hiding on a lower balcony.

To untangle the web we need to back up six years. In April 2001, the National Security Council of Turkey (Milli Guvenlik Kurulu) began to consider evangelical Christians as a threat to national security, on equal footing as Al Quaida and PKK terrorism.

Statements made in the press by political leaders, columnists and commentators have fueled a hatred against ‘missionaries’ who they claim bribe young people to change their religion.

After that decision in 2001, attacks and threats on churches, pastors and Christians began. Bombings, physical attacks, verbal and written abuse are only some of the ways Christians are being targetted. Most significant is the use of media propaganda.

From December 2005, after having a long meeting regarding the Christian threat, the wife of Former Prime Minister Ecevit, historian Ilber Ortayli, Professor Hasan Unsal, Politician Ahmet Tan and writer/propogandist Aytunc Altindal, each in their own profession began a campaign to bring the public’s attention to the looming threat of Christians who sought to “buy their children’s souls”.

Hidden cameras in churches have taken church service footage and used it sensationally to promote fear and antagonism toward Christianity.

In an official televised response from Ankara, the Interior Minister of Turkey smirked as he spoke of the attacks on our brothers in Malatya.

Amid public outrage and protests against the event and in favor of freedom of religion and freedom of thought, media and official comments ring with the same message, “We hope you have learned your lesson. We do not want Christians here.” It appears that this was an organized attack initiated by an unknown adult tarikat leader.

As in the Hrant Dink murder in January 2007, and a Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in February 2006, minors are being used to commit religious murders because public sympathy for youth is strong and they face lower penalties than an adult convicted of the same crime. Even the parents of these children are in favor of the acts.

The mother of the 16 year old boy who killed the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro looked at the cameras as her son was going to prison and said, “he will serve time for Allah.” The young men involved in the killing are currently in custody.

Today news reported that they would be tried as terrorists, so their age would not affect the strict penalty. Assailant Emre Gunaydin is still in intensive care. The investigation centers around him and his contacts and they say the case will fall apart if he does not recover.

The Church in Turkey responded in a way that honored God as dozens of believers and pastors flew in as fast as they could to stand by the small church of Malatya and encourage the believers, take care of legal issues, and represent Christians to the media.

When Susanne expressed her wish to bury her husband in Malatya there were many complications. However, in the end Tilmann was buried in an old Armenian graveyard on April 20th. Ugur was buried by his family in an Alevi Muslim ceremony in his hometown of Elazig, his believing fiance watching from the shadows as his family and friends refused to accept in death the faith Ugur had so long professed and died for. Necati’s funeral took place in his hometown of Izmir, the city where he came to faith. The darkness does not understand the light.

Though the churches expressed their forgiveness for the event, Christians were not to be trusted. Before they would load the coffin onto the plane from Malatya, it went through two separate xray exams to make sure it was not loaded with explosives. This is not a usual procedure for Muslim coffins.

Necati’s funeral was a beautiful event. Like a glimpse of heaven, hundreds of Turkish Christians and workers came to show their love for Christ, and their honor for this man chosen to die for Christ. Necati’s wife Shemsa told the world, “His death was full of meaning, because he died for Christ and he lived for Christ… Necati was a gift from God. I feel honored that he was in my life, I feel crowned with honor. I want to be worthy of that honor.”

Boldly the believers took their stand at Necati’s funeral, facing the risks of being seen publicly and likewise becoming targets. As expected, the anti-terror police attended and videotaped everyone attending the funeral for their future use.

The service took place outside at Buca Baptist church, and he was buried in a small Christian graveyard in the outskirts of Lzmir. Two assistant Governors of Lzmir were there solemnly watching the event from the front row. Dozens of news agencies were there documenting the events with live news and photographs. Who knows the impact the funeral had on those watching? This is the beginning of their story as well. Pray for them.

In an act that hit front pages in the largest newspapers in Turkey, Susanne Geske in a television interview expressed her forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. “Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,” she said, wholeheartedly agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34).

In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of Susanne Geske has changed lives. One columnist wrote of her comment, “She said in one sentence what 1000 missionaries in 1000 years could never do.”

Many foreigners in Malatya will most likely move out, as their families and children have become publicly identified as targets to the hostile city. The remaining 10 believers are in hiding. What will happen to this church, this light in the darkness? Most likely it will go underground.

Pray for wisdom, that Turkish brothers from other cities will go to lead the leaderless church. Should we not be concerned for that great city of Malatya, a city that does not know what it is doing? (Jonah 4:11)

When our Pastor Fikret Bocek went with a brother to give a statement to the Security Directorate on Monday they were ushered into the Anti-Terror Department. On the wall was a huge chart covering the whole wall listing all the terrorist cells in Izmir, categorized. In one prominent column were listed all the evangelical churches in Izmir. The darkness does not understand the light. “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” (Acts 17:6)

Please pray for the Church in Turkey. “Don’t pray against persecution, pray for perseverance,” urges Pastor Fikret Bocek. The Church is better having lost our brothers; the fruit in our lives, the renewed faith, the burning desire to spread the gospel to quench more darkness in Malatya …all these are not to be regretted. Pray that we stand strong against external opposition and especially pray that we stand strong against internal struggles with sin, our true debilitating weakness. This we know. Christ Jesus was there when our brothers were giving their lives for Him. He was there, like He was when Stephen was being stoned in the sight of Saul of Tarsus.

Someday the video of the deaths of our brothers may reveal more to us about the strength that we know Christ gave them to endure their last cross, about the peace the Spirit of God endowed them with to suffer for their beloved Savior. But we know He did not leave their side. We know their minds were full of Scripture strengthening them to endure, as darkness tried to subdue the unsubduable Light of the Gospel. We know, in whatever way they were able, with a look or a word, they encouraged one another to stand strong. We know they knew they would soon be with Christ. We don’t know the details. We don’t know the kind of justice that will or will not be served on this earth. But we pray– and urge you to pray– that someday at least one of those five boys will come to faith because of the testimony in death of Tilmann Geske, who gave his life as a foreign Christian in Turkey, and the testimonies in death of Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, the first martyrs for Christ out of the Turkish Church.

Details in this letter were obtained through various news and media sources based on preliminary press releases and interviews. The court cases are pending and specific evidence and autopsy reports from the crime are not yet available to the public.

Reported by Darlene N. Bocek, 01 May 2007 Contact The Protestant Church of Smyrna at www.izmirprotestan.org izmirprotestan@gmail.com

TURKEY: Lawyers Slam Investigation of Malatya Murders

http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&idelement=5124〈=en&length=short&backpage=archives&critere=Lawyers%20Slam%20Investigation%20of%20Malatya%20Murders&countryname=Turkey&rowcur=0

At the opening day trial of three Christians tortured and killed here in April, attorneys for the bereft families accused prosecutors of ’sloppy’ investigations that focused on the religious activities of the victims rather than on the crime itself.

The 20 lawyers, most of them working pro bono on behalf of the victims’ families and Turkish Protestant churches, spelled out detailed criticisms of prosecutors’ ‘irresponsible’ investigations at the hearing on Friday (23 November). The plaintiffs’ attorneys objected to the tone of the indictment and investigation, declaring that 16 of the 31 files focused on the religious activities of the Christian victims rather than on the murderers, who tied up, stabbed and slit the throats of Turkish converts Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel and German Christian Tilmann Geske.

According to one lawyer quoted by Milliyet newspaper on 20 November, this “irrelevant” information looked like an indirect effort by the chief prosecutor “to reduce the charges by making the victims” attempts to spread their religion look like “provocation”.

Used with permission from Compass Direct, Copyright © 2007. All rights reserved.

***PLEASE NOTE: Gifts on behalf of the wives and children of these martyrs for Christ may be sent to Turkish World Outreach, 508 Fruitvale Court, Grand Junction, CO 81504, USA. Please designate such gifts for the Survivors Fund.***

June 3, Sunday

(Mosul, Iraq)

Fr. Ragheed, Subdeacon Basman, Subdeacon Wahid and Subdeacon Gassan

06/04/2007 10:11 IRAQ

The Chaldean Church Mourns Fr. Ragheed Ganni and His Martyrs

Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly together with all of the Chaldean bishops condemn this barbarous murder of the Iraq born priest, age 33, and his three deacons, massacred yesterday in Mosul after Sunday Mass: “A horrible crime against God and humanity , may these martyrs find eternal rest”. This afternoon the funerals will be held in Karamles. New information comes to light surrounding the murders.

With “a heart full of bitterness and mourning”, the Chaldean Church is today lamenting its martyrs. This is how, in a joint statement the Chaldean Patriarch and his bishops remember Fr Ragheed Ganni (in the photo) and his three sub-deacons – Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho, Gassan Isam Bidawed – murdered in cold blood yesterday, as they left the Parist Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul after Sunday Mass.

This afternoon at 15.00 (local time) their funerals will be held in Karamles, Fr. Ragheed’s home town; celebrated by Msgr. Faraj Rahho, the bishop of Mosul. Emmanuel III Delly’s condemnation on behalf of the nation’s bishops came just hours after the assassination.

“It is a most heinous crime that any person of proper conscience would reject. The authors carried out a most horrible act against God, against humanity, against their own brothers who were peace loving citizens, as well as men of religion who always offered their prayers to God the Almighty for security and stability in Iraq”, the text reads.

Msgr. Rabban al Qas, bishop of Amadiyah and Erbil, reflected on the figure of Fr. Ragheed with AsiaNews: “He had such great courage, united with a loving calm. He was a spiritual man, loved by his people, Catholic and Muslim”.

Meanwhile new information surrounding the nature of the attack has come to light. After celebrating Sunday mass, Fr. Ragheed and his three aides were leaving the Parish by car, accompanied by the wife of one of the sub-deacons, Gassan Isam Bidawed.

In recent days the three insisted on accompanying Fr. Ragheed to protect him. “They were young men alive with faith, who accompanied their parish priests every more, risking their lives for their belief in Christ”, their friends tell. Suddenly, at the corner of the road, their car is blocked by unknown armed men militants who order the woman to distance herself from the others and then, in cold blood, shoot the remaining passengers, repeatedly.

The aggressor’s then booby trapped the car with explosives; with the aim of further carnage should anyone near the car to recover the bodies. In the immediate aftermath of the attack, the bodies remained, abandoned on the city street, because no one dared to approach. It was only towards ten pm (Local time) that security forces finally defused the explosives allowing corpses to be recovered.

They now lie in repose in the Church of the Holy Spirit. The Chaldean bishops who are currently gathered for their patriarchal Synod “ask the Lord to grant mercy to the souls of these martyrs, and extend their deepest sympathies to the families of the deceased, to the bishop of the city Msgr. Faraj Rahho, to the brother priests of the victims and the Chaldean faithful throughout the world, that they may be given the necessary strength to face such an arduous situation”.

The bishops conclude by recalling the persecution of Iraqi Christians, their forced emigration, their being pushed to renounce their faith asking “Iraqi leaders and international organizations to intervene to put a concrete end to these criminal acts”.

Yesterday Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state revealed that the war in Iraq will be on the agenda for talks with US President George Bush in his upcoming visit to Rome June 8th.

Fr. Ragheed is the first Catholic priest to have been killed in Iraq since 2003. Before him, last year it was the turn of a Assyrian Orthodox priest Fr. Paul Iskandar. (see Fr. Iskandar’s martyrdom in 2003 Martyr Chronicles)

A dear friend of AsiaNews, Fr Ragheed Ganni was born in Mosul in 1972. A graduate in engineering form the local university, he studied theology from 1996 to 2003 at the Pontifical Irish College and the Pontifical University of Thomas Aquinas the “Angelicum”, where he received a license in Ecumenical Theology.

Used with permission from AsiaNews C.F. Copyright © 2007. All rights reserved.

05/30/2005 15:41

IRAQ ITALY year of the Eucharist

Terrorism seeks to take away life, the Eucharist gives is back, says Iraqi priest

Fr. Ragheed Ganni speaks during the vigil before the Pope’s visit to the city of Bari.

“The Eucharist is a source of life even when one’s daily experience is death. This is true for Mosul (northern Iraq), a city where residents constantly live in fear of kidnappings and car bombs, but where churches remain open and Christians go to mass in great numbers because “without the Eucharist life would be impossible”.

Fr Ragheed Ganni, 33, a Chaldean clergyman from Mosul is a witness to the Eucharist’s power. After leaving his city, he reached Bari (southern Italy) via Aleppo and Rome. Here, on May 28, on the eve of the Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the city, he spoke about his experience. After seven years in Italy, Father Ragheed went back to his native Iraq in November 2003. In the last year, he has seen several anti-Christian attacks in the diocese of Mosul. Here is what he said during Saturday’s vigil.

“Mosul Christians are not theologians; some are even illiterate. And yet inside of us for many generations one truth has become embedded: without the Sunday Eucharist we cannot live.” “This is true today when evil has reached the point of destroying churches and killing Christians, something unheard of in Iraq till now.”

“On June 2004 of last year, a group of young women was cleaning the church to get it ready for Sunday service. My sister Raghad, who is 19,was among them.” “As she was carrying a pale of water to wash the floor, two men drove up and threw a grenade that blew up just a few yards away from her.” “She was wounded but miraculously survived. And on that Sunday we still celebrated the Eucharist. My shaken parents were also there. “For me and my community, my sister’s wounds were a source of strength so that we, too, may bear our cross.”

“Last August in St Paul Church, a car bomb exploded after the 6 pm mass. The blast killed two Christians and wounded many others. But that, too, was another miracle. The car was full of bombs but only one exploded. Had they all gone off together the dead would have been in the hundreds since 400 faithful had come on that day.” “People could not believe what had happened. The terrorists might think they can kill our bodies or our spirit by frightening us, but, on Sundays, churches are always full. They may try to take our life, but the Eucharist gives it back.”

“On December 7, the eve of the Immaculate Conception, a group of terrorist tried to destroy the Chaldean Bishop’s Residence, which is near Our Lady of the Tigris Shrine, a place venerated by both Christians and Muslims.” “They placed explosives everywhere and a few minutes later blew the place up. This and fundamentalist violence against young Christians have forced many families to flee. Yet the Churches have remained open and people continue to go to mass, even among the ruins”.

“It is among such difficulties that we understand the real value of Sunday, the day when we meet the Risen Christ, the day of our unity and love, of our [mutual] support and help.”

“There are days when I feel frail and full of fear. But when, holding the Eucharist, I say ‘Behold the Lamb of God Behold, who takes away the sin of the world’, I feel His strength in me. When I hold the Host in my hands, it is really He who is holding me and all of us, challenging the terrorists and keeping us united in His boundless love.”

“In normal times, everything is taken for granted and we forget the greatest gift that is made to us. Ironically, it is thanks to terrorist violence that we have truly learned that it is the Eucharist, the Christ who died and risen, that gives us life. And this allows us to resist and hope.”

Used with permission from AsiaNews C.F. Copyright © 2007. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

You KNOW he forgave them and he is praying for those who shot him

The Last Mass of Father Ragheed, a Martyr of the Chaldean Church

http://tree-in-the-sea.blogspot.com/2007/06/you-know-he-forgave-them-and-he-is.html

They killed him in Mosul, together with three of his subdeacons. In a tormented Iraq, he was a man and a Christian of luminous and courageous faith.

Here is a portrait of him, written by someone who knew him well by Sandro Magister

ROMA, June 5, 2007 – They killed him on the Sunday after Pentecost, after he had celebrated Mass in his parish church, dedicated to the Holy Spirit, in Mosul. They killed Father Ragheed Ganni, a Chaldean Catholic priest, together with three subdeacons who were with him – Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho, and Gassan Isam Bidawed.

The assailants led Bidawed’s wife away, and struck down the four men in cold blood. Then they placed vehicles loaded with explosives around their corpses, so that no one would dare to approach them. It was late in the evening before the police in Mosul were able to defuse the explosives and collect the bodies. The Chaldean Church immediately mourned for them as martyrs. Benedict XVI prayed for them from Rome.

Father Ragheed was one of the most limpid and courageous witnesses of the Christian life in a country among the most afflicted. He was born in Mosul 35 years ago. After graduating from the local university with an engineering degree in 1993, from 1996 to 2003 he studied theology in Rome at the Angelicum, the Pontifical Saint Thomas Aquinas University, pursuing a license in ecumenical theology. Apart from Arabic, he spoke fluent Italian, French, and English. He was a correspondent for the international agency “Asia News,” of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.

The day after his martyrdom, “Asia News” published this portrait of him:

“The Eucharist gives back to us the life that the terrorists seek to take away”

“Without Sunday, without the Eucharist the Christians in Iraq cannot survive”: that was how Fr Ragheed spoke of his community’s hope, a community that was used to facing death on a daily basis, that same death that yesterday afternoon faced him, on his way home from saying mass.

After having fed his faithful with the Body and Blood of Christ, he gave his own blood, his own life for Iraq, for the future of his Church. This young priest had willingly, knowingly chosen to remain by the side of his parishioners from Holy Spirit parish in Mosul, judged the most dangerous city after Baghdad. His reasoning was simple: without him, without its pastor, his flock would have been lost.

In the barbarity of suicide attacks and bombings, one thing at least was clear, and gave him the strength to resist: “Christ”, Ragheed would say, “challenges evil with his infinite love, he keeps us united and through the Eucharist he gifts us life, which the terrorists are trying to take away”.

He died yesterday, massacred by blind violence. Killed on his way home from Church, where his people, despite their decreasing numbers, bowed by fear and desperation, continued to come.

“The young people”, Ragheed told us just days ago, “organized surveillance after the recent attacks against the parish, the kidnappings, the threats to religious; priests celebrate mass amidst the bombed out ruins; mothers worry as they see their children face danger to attend catechism with enthusiasm; the elderly come to entrust their fleeing families to God’s protection, they alone remain in their country where they have their roots and built their homes, refusing to flee. Exile for them is unimaginable”.

Ragheed was one of them, a strong father figure who wanted to protect his children: “It is our duty not to give in to despair: God will listen to our prayers for peace in Iraq”: In 2003, after finishing his studies in Rome, he decided to return to his country: “that is where I belong, that is my place”. He also returned to help in the rebuilding of his nation, the rebuilding of a “free society”.

He spoke of an Iraq full of hope with a captivating smile: “Saddam has fallen, we have elected a government, we have voted for a Constitution!” He organized theology courses for the lay faithful of Mosul; he worked with the young; he consoled disadvantaged families; this month he was engrossed in helping a small child with serious eye problems undergo surgery in Rome.

His testimony is that of an enthusiastic faith. The target of a series of threats stretching back to 2004, he witnessed the pain of relatives and the loss of friends, and yet he carried on to the very end remembering that there was meaning to be found in that suffering, that carnage, that anarchy of violence: it was to be offered up.

After an attack on his parish, on Palm Sunday last April 1st he said: “We empathize with Christ, who entered Jerusalem in full knowledge that the consequence of His love for mankind was the cross. Thus while bullets smashed our church windows, we offered up our suffering as a sign of love for Christ”. “Each day we wait for the decisive attack”, he said just weeks ago, “but we will not stop celebrating mass; we will do it underground, where we are safer. I am encouraged in this decision by the strength of my parishioners. This is war, real war, but we hope to carry our cross to the very end with the help of Divine Grace”.

In the midst of the daily difficulties he himself marveled at a growing awareness of “the great value of Sunday, the day we met the Risen Lord, the day of unity and of love between his community, of support and help”.

Then the bombings multiplied; the kidnappings of priests in Baghdad and Mosul became more frequent; Sunnis began to demand taxes from Christians to remain in their homes, or face their requisition by militants. Water and electricity grew scarce, telephoning and communicating became difficult.

Ragheed began to grow tired, his enthusiasm weakened, to the point where in his last e-mail to AsiaNews, May 28 last, he admitted: “We are on the verge of collapse.” He told of a bomb exploding in the Holy Spirit Church, on the feast of Pentecost May 27; of the “war” which broke out a week before, 7 car bombings, 10 explosions in swift succession, the three day curfew, “prisoners in our own home”, of not being able to celebrate the feast of the Ascension, 20 May.

He pondered the path his country had taken: “In a sectarian and confessional Iraq, will there be any space for Christians? We have no support, no group who fights for our cause; we are abandoned in the midst of this disaster. Iraq has already been divided; it will never be the same. What is the future of our Church?”.

But then the strength of his faith endured, a tired but solid faith: “I may be wrong, but I am certain about one thing, one single fact that is always true: that the Holy Spirit will enlighten people so that they may work for the good of humanity, in this world so full of evil”.

Dearest Ragheed, together with a heart which cries in pain, you leave us your hope and your certainty. By taking you, they aimed to wipe out the hope of Iraq’s Christians. Instead, your martyrdom nourishes and gives new life to your community, to the Iraqi Church and the Church throughout the world. Thank you, Ragheed!

The international news agency of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, for which Father Ragheed was a correspondent: > Asia News On www.chiesa, www.chiesa Sandro Magister’s e-mail address is s.magister@espressoedit.it

Saturday, November 24, 2007

The Chaldean Church in Iraq

So, during my prayer of Thanksgiving I mentioned the plight of the ancient Christians in Iraq. They are the folks still speaking a form of Aramaic, that language spoken in the time of Jesus.

Funeral of Holy Martyr Fr. Ragheed

The voice you hear singing is the voice of Father Ragheed Ganni.

On June 03, 2007 this Chaldean Priest and three deacons were driving home after celebrating mass at Holy Spirit Chaldean Catholic Church in Mosul Iraq.

Their car was stopped by terrorists/sectarians/gunmen (the choice is yours) and they were forced to declare their submission to Islam. When they refused they were gunned downed.

The congregants pray not for revenge but for repentance. For 2000 years this tiny community existed side by side with their Iraqi countrymen. Since the 600s they lived next to their Islamic neighbors in relative peace.

Not today, not during this civil/sectarian war. I am reminded of Gandhi who said, “An eye for an eye and soon the whole world is blind”.

The song the late father sings is a hymn to the Holy Mother. In translation he sings:

We honor you with hymns O Mother of God, you are the pride of the whole earth, because the Word of God whom the Father sent, chose to take His human body from you. The generations call you blessed, all nations and people’s honor you and ask for mercy by your prayers. You are a generous earth in which plants of joy always grow.

These ancient Christians are leaving Iraq. After 2000 years of uninterrupted cultural contribution to the land of Babylon, Ur and the Chaldeans, they are leaving. After living side by side with the followers of the Prophet they are leaving.

This is not a Christian-Islamic battle. All over Iraq neighbors are fighting neighbors. Shia and Sunni are fighting each other, Turkish Kurds are endangering Iraqi Kurds. This is a nation in chaos. This is a fight to control what is left after the war ends. This is a fight this tiny community can not hope to win or even engage in.

The fear among anthropologists is that once they leave their communities and are relocated in various small communities around the globe the culture will die. The people will live, but the spoken language of Jesus, the descendant culture of the early church and of the apostles will cease to exist. There is far too much suffering, loss and destruction in this ill thought out war. Posted by Carl Jylland-Halverson

Hymn to the holy Mother of God by Fr. Ragheed

Click to play

*Deacon Basman Yousef Daud, Deacon Wahid Hanna. Isho, Deacon Gassan Isam Bidawed