Omicidi, condanne a morte, cadaveri: finisce in modo drammatico il 2018 dei cristiani perseguitati

34 corpi ritrovati in Libia. Due fratelli subiranno la pena capitale in Pakistan. In Africa missionari e fedeli sotto costante attacco

Poco più di un mese fa, la Fondazione di diritto pontificio Aiuto alla Chiesa che Soffre ha pubblicato il suo Rapporto annuale. Circa 300milioni i cristiani perseguitati nel mondo e 38 i Paesi dove sono discriminati. Tanti di questi cristiani perdono la vita a causa della loro fede.

La strage in Africa

Solo nel 2018: cinque sacerdoti uccisi in Centrafrica in quattro diversi attacchi, oppure ai sette sacerdoti uccisi in Messico; in Nigeria c’è stato un attentato all’interno di una chiesa nel mese di aprile, dove sono stati uccisi altri due sacerdoti. In Nigeria solamente nei primi cinque mesi del 2018 quasi 500 cristiani sono stati uccisi in attacchi da parte degli islamisti fulani.

L’attentato in Egitto

Poi, veniamo ad esempio ad un recentissimo attentato, come quello in Egitto del 2 novembre, nel quale sono stati uccisi 11 cristiani che si recavano in un santuario vicino Minya. Quindi, purtroppo, le tante uccisioni registrate quest’anno confermano il dramma della persecuzione anti-cristiana (Vatican News, 26 dicembre).

La fossa comune in Libia

Intanto proprio nel giorno di Natale, resti di 34 cristiani etiopi uccisi da combattenti dello Stato islamico nel 2015 sono stati trovati in una fossa comune in Libia. Lo ha reso noto il ministero dell’Interno di Tripoli. I jihadisti avevano pubblicato un video nell’aprile 2015 che mostrava l’esecuzione di almeno 28 uomini, descritti come cristiani etiopi.

Un funzionario ha detto che i loro corpi sono stati scoperti vicino a Sirte, l’ex roccaforte de Daesh fino a quando non è stato estromesso dalla città costiera nel dicembre 2016 dalle forze fedeli al governo appoggiato dall’Onu in Libia (Avvenire, 26 dicembre).

COPTIC CHRISTIANS — Coptic Christians carry the coffins of victims killed in an attack a day earlier,following a morning ceremony at the Prince Tadros church in Egypt’s southern Minya province, on November 3, 2018. – Gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians in central Egypt yesterday, killing seven in the latest assault on the religious minority claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.
The attackers opened fire on the bus of pilgrims in Minya province after the occupants had visited the Saint Samuel monastery, the local bishop told AFP. (Photo by MOHAMED EL-SHAHED / AFP)

PAKISTAN CHRISTIANS — Pakistani Christians mourn the death of relatives who were killed in a drive-by shooting outside a church, at a hospital in Quetta on April 15, 2018.
Two Christians were killed in a drive-by shooting outside a church in southwestern Pakistan on April 15, 2018, officials said, the second such attack on the minority community in the area this month. / AFP PHOTO / BANARAS KHAN

PAKISTAN FUNERAL — Cristiani pakistani al funerale di una delle vittime dell’attacco contro quattro cristiani avvenuto a Quetta il 2 aprile.

THE POWERS — Rappresentazioni di angeli appartenenti ad una legione.

CATHEDRAL CAIRO — A member of the Egyptian security forces stands guard outside the Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Egypt’s future administrative capital, 45 kms east of Cairo, on January 6, 2018.
Coptic Orthodox Christians packed the newly built Nativity of Christ Cathedral for a Christmas Eve mass after a bloody year for the minority singled out by jihadists for attacks. / AFP PHOTO / KHALED DESOUKI

PAKISTAN MASS — PAKISTAN, Lahore: Pakistani Christians pray during a special service at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Lahore on December 18, 2017 to mourn the victims of the Quetta suicide bomb attack on December 17, 2017. Pakistani security forces were on high alert across the country, following a suicide attack by the Islamic State group that targeted a church, at least eight people killed and 30 people wounded.¬† – Zaeem Awais

Trip to Iraq 2016 December 19
A decapited and shot at by ISIS the statue of Our Lady in the side chapel of the Mar Quryaqus (Qeryaqos) church in Batnaya

Mar Quryaqus (Qeryaqos) church in Batnaya

There is a church in Batnaya by the name of Mar Quryaqus (Qeryaqos), the patron of the town. It is a big church in the middle of the town on a high area. In 1944 the Mar Qeryaqos Church was built on the ruins of a monastery by the same name believed to have been built early 15th century. A second but smaller church Mart Maryam was built in 1966, while the church of Mar Gewargis was mentioned in an inscription dating 1745. Besides, there is the Monastery of St. Joseph which looks like a big house. It is inhabited by the Order of the Dominican Sisters. It also contains rooms and halls for catechism and a kindergarten. It is run by the religious and teachers of catechism. It is noteworthy that the sub-diocese of Mar Quryaqus belongs to the Chaldean Diocese of Elqosh.
There is a shrine in the town called Mart Shmooni which lies in the middle of the towns cemetery. It is visited by people on memorial occasions for prayer, religious canticles on such revered occasions for the villagers.

Batnaya is an Assyrian town in northern Iraq located 14 miles north of Mosul and around 3 miles north of Tel Keppe. All of its citizens fled to Iraqi Kurdistan after the ISIS invasion on August 6, 2014. On October 20, 2016, Peshmerga and Assyrian forces drove ISIS out and occupied the town. [2]
Etymology
The name Batnaya is of Syriac origin derived from either “Beth Tnyay” meaning “The House of Mud” or “Beth Tnaya” meaning “The House of Assiduity.”
History
Batnaya used to be called “Beth Madaye” meaning the “House of the Medes” where it’s believed that a group of the Medes who followed the Assyrian monk Oraham (Abraham) settled there around the seventh century. It’s also believed that Christianity reached Batnaya around that time.
Batnaya was attacked by the army of Nader Shah in 1743 who destroyed the village extensively and is believed to have killed half of its inhabitants.
In the past Batnaya used to be famous for making matting from the reeds its people used to cultivate in the valley of al-Khoser river. Currently, some of its inhabitants are cultivating different kinds of crops while others are involved in non-agricultural trades.
In 1944 the Mar Qeryaqos Church was built on the ruins of a monastery by the same name believed to have been built early 15th century. A second but smaller church Mart Maryam was built in 1966, while the church of Mar Gewargis was mentioned in an inscription dating 1745.
In Batnaya are several inscriptions, one dating to 1545 by Darweesh bin Yohanan from the village of Aqreen is entitled “Prayers for the Dead”, another one is a complete bible inscribed in Syriac by the priest Ataya bin Faraj bin Marqos of Alqosh dating 1586.
As with all the other currently chaldean villages that belong to the Chaldean Catholic Church, Batnaya’s chaldean used to follow the Church of the East until the sixteenth century, when the efforts of the Catholic Church came to fruition and the Church of the East was divided. However, as is the case with all the other villages of the Nineveh Plains, Catholicism did not gain ground till around mid 18th century.
Population
During the 17th and 19th centuries, the town had about 900 people; in 1995, the town grew to about 3,000 people. Prior to the emergence of ISIS, it exceeded over 6,000 people. All the people in the town are chaldean and belong to the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Modern day Batnaya
In 2007, because of the growth of the town, Sargis Aghajan built 25 new model houses near the Mar Oraha Monastery, which is beside the town. The Provision of municipal services to the village and monastery through the supply of two tractors for harvest & agriculture, and a dumper to collect garbage as well as employment of labourers to clean the access roads in the village. The village is under full control of “Peshmerga”.

Relatives of killed Coptic Christians gather as they grieve by the coffins during the funeral at Abu Garnous Cathedral in the north Minya town of Maghagha, on May 26, 2017.

Egypt launched an air strike on a jihadist training camp after masked gunmen attacked a bus of Coptic Christians south of the Egyptian capital, killing at least 28 people.

This police booking photo obtained May 27, 2017 courtesy of the Portland Police shows Jeremy Joseph Christian, suspected in the fatal stabbing of two men on a train May 26, 2017 in Portland, Oregon when they tried to help two young women who were being harassed because they appeared to be Muslim.
Christian, 35, is a known local white supremacist, according to local media. He has been booked on charges of aggravated murder (two counts), attempted murder, intimidation in the second degree (two counts), and felon in possession of a restricted weapon. Christian is being held without bail.
/ AFP PHOTO / AFP PHOTO AND PORTLAND POLICE / HO / XGTY
== RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE / MANDATORY CREDIT: “AFP PHOTO / PORTLAND POLICE” / NO MARKETING / NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS / DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS ==

(Picture: Facebook/ This is Christian Iraq)

Muslim youth volunteers help repair Catholic monastery attacked by ISIS in Mosul

Christians in Middle East: MEPs condemn persecution, discrimination based on religion

The recent attacks on Christians in the Middle East and in particular in Iraq and Egypt have highlighted the dangers that these ancient and dwindling communities face. Members of the European Parliament from across the political divide joined together to condemn violence against Christians and any violence based on religion when they debated the situation of Christians on Wednesday. The following day they adopted a resolution on the debate.

Egyptian men show empty cartridge cases in ∑Deir El-Garnouse, near Al-Minya, Egypt, 27 May 2017. 28 coptic Christians died when fighters of the terror militia group Islamic State, or Daesh opened fire on their bus. Photo: Roger Anis/dpa

I fratelli “blasfemi”

Altro grave episodio pre-natalizio è la condanna a morte subita da due cristiani in Pakistan. Accusati di avere postato sul loro sito Internet materiale considerato blasfemo, due fratelli, Qasir e Amoon, sono stati condannati a morte in Pakistan per il reato di blasfemia.

Entrambi i condannati, sposati e il primo padre di tre figli, erano riusciti a lasciare il Pakistan dopo che nel 2011 erano emerse le accuse nei loro confronti.

Erano stati arrestati al loro rientro in patria nel 2014 e rinviati a giudizio secondo gli articoli 295-A, B e C del Codice penale, collettivamente noti come “legge antiblasfemia” (Avvenire, 15 dicembre).

La preghiera per le due scandinave

Intanto il 23 dicembre in Marocco si è tenuta una manifestazione interreligiosa per onorare la memoria delle due ragazze trucidate da terroristi islamici nel territorio di Imlil, nella regione di Marrakech. Le vittime, la danese Louisa Vesterager Jespersen e la norvegese Maren Ueland, di 24 e 28 anni sono state violentate e decapitate da un gruppo di banditi, collegati ai terroristi del Daesh.

“Gesù, porta la pace…”

Il “corteo di preghiera interreligiosa”, come definito gli organizzatori, è stato organizzato dalla associazione Dar Imma che ha sede nella cittadina di Lalla Takerkouste, a poche decine di chilometri dal luogo dell’atroce delitto. Il rito interreligioso ha coinvolto le tre fedi monoteiste.

Hanno partecipato le autorità religiose delle moschee della regione, fra cui il lfikii della moschea di Takerkouste, l’imam Ibrahim Elatrache, il presidente della comunità ebraica marocchina di Marrakech-Safi, il rabbino Jacky Kadoch, e il parroco della chiesa dei Santi Martiri di Marrakech.

I partecipanti portavano anche alcuni poster per la pace e la tolleranza fra fedi religiose. Tra questi un’immagine con l’immagine di Gesù trionfante e la scritta: “Gesù, porta la pace nel cuore dell’umanità” (Avvenire, 25 dicembre).