Good news from Iraq. Even as thousands of Christians continue to flee the country, among those who remain many are answering the call to the priesthood and religious life.
Bishop Shlemon Warduni, an auxiliary on the Chaldean patriarchate of Baghdad, observed that the rise in vocations is a welcome sign of hope in a country where many Christians feel the pressure to emigrate because of the regular daily violence and the sporadic attacks aimed to intimidate the Christian minority.
If life is difficult for the average Iraqi, it is doubly so for the Christian minority because they are seen by Islamic fundamentalist terrorists as an extension of the Western “crusaders,” despite their more ancient claim to native status in the land.
Sounds like a good Lenten intention.
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