Topic: Plea for prayers and help from Iraqui Christians

[Stanislav]

Through Russian Roman Catholic writer and blogger, Anton Dubinin OP:

On Thu, 2/25/10, Fr Brian Mulcahy OP (...) wrote

Please read the following e-mail sent by Sr Donna Markham, O.P., the Prioress of the Adrian Dominicans, about our Dominican Sisters in Iraq and the entire Christian community in Mosul :



Dear Sisters,

This evening I have received very tragic news about the situation in
Iraq . I have just returned from being with the 5 Iraqi sisters who are
with us in Adrian . Today, all the Christians have fled from Mosul .

There have been murders and rapes of Christians there and for now they
are fleeing to the Christian villages. Sister Maria is very frightened
about the safety of the sisters and the Christian people. As of now,
the five elderly sisters who have been holding down the Motherhouse are
choosing to remain there because they do not want to lose their
Motherhouse to the terrorists. She said most Christians are making
plans to evacuate from Iraq and, as a consequence, she does not know
what will happen with her Congregation. She said they will follow the
Christian people where they go, but where that will be is uncertain.
The sisters' families remain in grave danger and, as you can imagine,
the young ones with us and with Springfield are terrified. As of now,
nothing is being reported in the US press. She asks if any of us know
people in Washington whom we could contact and tell the story, to please
do so. Most importantly, she asks for our prayers.

Love,
Donna

Please keep this situation in your prayers, and, as Sr Donna asks, if anyone has any contacts in DC who could bring this to the press or to Congress, please consider doing so.

Fraternally,

Fr Brian Mulcahy, O.P.

Socius

Lord have mercy!

[augustin717]

This is so sad.
May God have mercy on them and may God humiliate their persecutors.

[Carl Kraeff (Second Chance)]

Lord have mercy.

[podkarpatska]

It is an unintended consequence of the American intervention in Iraq that while the former and  oppressive Sunni-dominated  Baathist dictatorship provided some degree of tolerance and protection for the Christian minority in Irag, that our 'friends', the Shia-dominated present government, harbor no such illusions.

Let us pray for the protection of the Christian communities in Iraq; may the Theotokos place all of them under her Holy Mantle as she did the faithful at the  Blachernae church in Constantinople. In the words of the beautiful hymn sung in pilgrimage by the Rusyns and Lemkos at the feast of the Pokrov; "O Theotokos, We come to you, for protection. (Pod tvoju Pokrov,  pribihajem.)" Lord, have mercy.