Christians in Iraq protest
Iraqi Christians have come out in droves to protest the murders of their brothers and sisters in the faith, in the war torn Middle Eastern country.
Muslims have murdered Christians in Iraq, in senseless acts of violence, which does not help their case in the world. May the Christians of Iraq remain peaceful and strong in the faith, knowing that God will give them their reward in heaven. God bless you.
Iraqi Christians protest slayings, Pope concerned
Sun Feb 28, 2010 12:47pm EST
MOSUL, Iraq (Reuters) - At least 1,000 minority Christians, many holding olive branches, marched in protest near the restive city of Mosul on Sunday to urge the Iraqi government to act decisively after a series of killings.
At least eight Christians have been killed in the last two weeks in the turbulent northern city, 390 km (250 miles) north of Baghdad, prompting Pope Benedict to appeal on Sunday for Iraq's Christians to be better protected.
Two of those attacked had gone missing, their bodies later found dumped in the street with gunshot wounds. Others were shot dead in the street, near their homes, or at their place of work.
Some 683 Christian families, or 4,098 people, fled Mosul between February 20 and 27 following the attacks, a United Nations report said on Sunday.
The murders came just weeks before Iraq's March 7 parliamentary election, which has the potential to help cement an end to seven years of war or plunge a still-divided country into a new cycle of violence.
"I appeal to the civil authorities to complete every effort to give security again to the population, and in particular, to the most vulnerable religious minorities," the Pope said in his weekly blessing from Vatican City.
Priests in religious vestments led the protest procession in the Christian town of Hamdaniya, 40 km (25 miles) east of Mosul.
"The blood of innocents screams for terrorism and violence to be stopped," read one banner.
Sunni Islamist insurgents such as al Qaeda have long targeted Christians, Yazidis, Shabaks, and other Iraqi minorities, as well as majority Shi'ites, whom they consider heretics. Christians number an estimated 750,000 in Iraq, a small minority in a country of 28 million...
