Kirkuk Bishop Sees "a Church of Martyrs"
BAGHDAD, Iraq,
FEB. 1, 2006

(Zenit.org).- Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk says the Christian community in Iraq is becoming "once again a Church of martyrs," after Sunday's car bomb attacks.

Three people died and more than 20 were injured when bombers targeted six churches in Baghdad and the northern city of Kirkuk.

Describing the "astonishing courage" of Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants alike, Archbishop Sako, 57, spoke of the defiance of his faithful, who "would not be pushed out of Iraq" by acts of aggression.

After presiding at the funeral of 14-year-old Fadi Raad Elias, who died in the blasts, the archbishop described how people packed the Kirkuk cathedral to show "they were even more attached to Christianity than ever before."

The prelate told the charity Aid to the Church in Need that his faithful were consoled by the many Muslims who attended the funeral, even Muslim women, which, he said, was very unusual.

The archbishop said that he had given money from Aid to the Church in Need to grieving families and friends struggling to pay for the funeral and lacking essential needs.

"They felt so grateful," he said. "For them, it was an important symbol of solidarity. It means they are not isolated." Article