For most Western readers, a glimpse of the city of Mosul, Iraq, reveals nothing short of complete devastation. A great majority of the once-thriving Christian population in the city remain exiled, in fear of a resurgence of Islamic terror.
A melody is slowly quieting in Turkey. For centuries, the soft chanting of psalms flowed across churches flooded with worshipers. They knelt in prayer, their petitions floating like the incense which enveloped them. Candles were lit as they exited, a reminder of Christ's light to the world. This is the country where the New Testament church came to life.
Groups representing Christians in northeast Syria are appealing for prayer, fearful that Turkey plans to make good its numerous threats to invade the region with its military forces. Since November 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to launch a large military operation east of the Euphrates River to "clear Kurdish terrorists" from the area.
At the invitation of His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Louis Raphael Sako, the annual Chaldean Synod was held at the Patriarchal summer headquarters, Ankawa, Erbil, Iraq, from 3 to 10 August 2019, attended by Bishops from the dioceses of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, America, Canada and Australia.
Jimmy Aldaoud, a 41-year-old Chaldean Catholic, was deported from the US in June. Last week he was found dead on the streets of Baghdad. According to US law, there was a prima facie case for his deportation: Aldaoud had an extensive criminal record, involving multiple convictions.
House Democrats urged President Donald Trump to stop deporting Iraq nationals on Tuesday after a deported Michigan man died last week of a diabetic crisis. In a letter signed by dozens of Democrats, the lawmakers expressed their "outrage and grief" over the death of Jimmy Aldaoud, a Michigan man who died last Tuesday after being deported to Iraq in June.