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Article: Fearing war, Iraqi Christians ask prayers.(Bishop Shlemon Warduni)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- December 4, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In Baghdad, Iraqi Bishop Shlemon Warduni has one response to all those who ask how they can support the people in Iraq: "Pray for us." They are facing the possibility of military attacks if Iraq fails to comply with a UN Security Council resolution passed in early November.
The bishop is part of the Catholic Chaldean Patriarchate, which represents almost 70 percent of Christians in the nation. His church follows the ancient Chaldean rite but is in full union with Rome.
Accurate figures are hard to come by, but Warduni estimates there are some 650,000 Christians in Iraq, accounting for less than 3 percent of the country's mainly Muslim population of 22.5 ...