08171
March 5, 2008

Jordanian prince condemns kidnapping of Chaldean bishop in Iraq

by Ecumenical News International

AMMAN — Jordanian Prince El Hassan bin Talal, who chairs the board of  trustees of the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, has condemned strongly the  kidnapping of the Chaldean Catholic archbishop of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, Paulus Faraj Rahho, and the killing of three of his companions.

“These criminal acts defy our principles of common humanity and offend our religious values and codes of conduct,” the prince said in a statement from Amman on March 3.

The prince, who is president emeritus of the World Conference on Religions for Peace, was named as the 2008 winner of the Niwano Peace Prize on Feb. 27 for his efforts at building peace with justice in the Middle East, especially with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In Rome, Pope Benedict XVI had on March 1 called the kidnapping a “deplorable act, which is a powerful blow to the whole Church in the country.”

Catholic World News reported from Mosul on March 3 that police were scouring the city and its surroundings, searching for the gunmen who abducted Bishop Rahho on Feb. 29. As church leaders pleaded for his release, an Iraqi bishop revealed that the kidnappers had issued a “staggering” ransom demand.

“We condemn all acts of kidnapping and assassination as contrary to the basic precept of respect for human life and liberty. We are extremely saddened by the kidnapping of Archbishop Rahho and by any crimes committed against the Christian religious community in Iraq,” said the Jordanian prince.

“The traditional Christian communities of this troubled country stand as a testament to the age-old respect for our brothers in faith, the people of the book, who have commanded our love and filial protection since the days of the Prophet [Muhammad],” said Hassan. “It shocks us greatly to learn of these crimes against those men and women who carry the Abrahamic message of love, peace and brotherhood. These holy men must not be made victims of conflict, nor should they pay a price for political quarrels under any circumstances.”

Hassan called on Muslim believers and “the entire global community to join us in condemning this act and to take all possible measures to win the freedom of Archbishop Rahho and to help prevent such crimes being committed in the future.” The prince said, “We must all stand firmly against these criminal acts and affirm to our communities that they are against all religious and human principles and values.”

Christians, until 2003, accounted for roughly 3 per cent of Iraq’s mainly Muslim population, or about 700,000 people. Approximately 70 per cent of them belong to the Chaldean church, which follows the ancient Chaldean rite but is in union with the Catholic Church.