news article
Catholic Archbishop abducted in Iraq
A Catholic archbishop in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul has been kidnapped by insurgents, the Vatican says. Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66, was abducted from outside his church in the city, according to news agency reports.
The Vatican said in a statement that it deplored "in the firmest way such a terrorist act," and asked that the archbishop be freed immediately.
There have been a number of attacks on Iraq's Christian minority. Two churches were bombed in Mosul in December.
IRAQI CHRISTIANS' LONG HISTORY
Archbishop Casmoussa, who was appointed leader of the city's Syrian Catholic community six years ago, was seized by gunmen at about 1700 local time (1400 GMT) as he was about to enter his car, a local priest told the AFP (Agence-France Presse) news agency.
The kidnappers forced him into the trunk of their vehicle before speeding away, he said.
Christians make up some 3 percent of Iraq's population of about 25 million. The Syrian Catholic church belongs to the Eastern rite of Catholicism. It is one of a number of semi-autonomous Catholic churches in the Middle East, which pledge allegiance to the Pope in Rome but enjoy a degree of independence in their religious rites.
Although there have been a number of attacks on Christian targets, Iraqi security forces have been the focus attacks by mainly Sunni Muslim insurgents trying to derail the election.
Turkishpress.Com citing AFP said gunmen kidnapped the Catholic archbishop in Iraq's main northern city of Mosul in what the Vatican condemned as a "terrorist act" as persistent violence dogged the run-up to landmark January 30 elections.
Archbishop Casmoussa, leader of Mosul's Syrian Catholic community, was seized by gunmen at around 5 pm (1400 GMT) as he was about to enter his car, local priest Father Faraj told AFP.
The kidnappers then tossed him into the trunk of their vehicle before speeding away, said the priest, who follows the rival Chaldean rite.
The Chaldean patriarch in Baghdad, Emmanuel Delly, said Casmoussa "was abducted outside his home as he was returning from a pastoral visit in the diocese of Mosul.”
"He was abducted and taken off in a car. We don't know who took him, nor the reason why," Delly told the missionary news agency Misna by telephone.
"We gave the news to the Vatican and now we are doing everything possible to trace him and we hope we can save him."
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls said the Holy See "condemns in the firmest manner this terrorist act and demands that Monsignor Casmoussa be rapidly returned safe and well to his ministry."
The motive of the abduction was not immediately clear but it came amid mounting sectarian violence in the run-up to this month's election. The home of the Chaldean patriarch was attacked late last year prompting condemnation from Pope John Paul II.
In Baghdad, a spokesman for one of the main Christian political parties suggested the abduction might be an attempt to intimidate the community into staying at home on polling day.
"It could be an attack on Christians who are willing to participate in the elections," said Assyrian Democratic Movement spokesman William Warda.
BACKGROUND ON SYRIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
*Observes the Liturgy of St James, performed in Syriac, though certain readings are in Arabic
*Practiced mostly in Iraq and Lebanon
*In communion with Roman Catholic church since the 17th century.
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
19 Jan 2005
Useful link: www.assistnews.net
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