CWN - Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiago, the president of the charitable consortium Caritas International, has sent a message to Church leaders in Iraq, expressing solidarity with the Christians of the country who are facing persecution by the Islamic State.
Cardinal Rodriguez noted “the massive displacement of 1.2 million people, many of them civilians trying to escape appalling atrocities in the hope of saving their own lives and those of their families.” He questioned:
How can members of the same family inflict such atrocities on their own people in the name of religion? Or is it rather the manipulation of ruthless greed for power that inflicts such ruthless violence on so many innocent people?
The Honduran cardinal pleaded with leaders of the Islamic State to “cease inflicting atrocities on their brothers and sisters.” He voiced his fear that the brutal violence “may push back advancements in the Christian-Muslim dialogue and destroy the peaceful coexistence…enjoyed by many Muslims and Christians in all parts of the world, but most especially in the Middle East.”
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