1월 17일 주일에 모술지역 가톨릭신자들은 신임 대주교를 축하하면서, 신자 한 사람의 암살을 애도하였다.

교황 베네딕도 16세는 지난 11월 13일에 칼데안의 모술대교구의 대주교로 에밀 시문 노나 대주교를 서임하였다. 같은 날 52세의 시리아계 가톨릭신자인 사달라 유시프 조리스가 사살되었다.

익명을 요구하는 어느 사람은, 지금 모술에서 벌어지는 이 “인종청소”가 2008년에 일어난 것과 유사하다고 지적하였다.

2008년에는 칼데안의 모술대교구의 파라지 라아호 대주교가 폭력으로 희생되었었다.

라아호 대주교가 작년 2월에 4순절 십자가의 길 예절을 한 교회 밖에서 납치되면서 동행하던 사람 3명이 살해되었고 3월 13일에 65세의 라아호 대주교가 사체로 발견되었던 것이다.

(2010. 1. 20. 제니트)  

 

 MOSUL, Iraq, JAN. 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Sunday was bittersweet for Mosul Catholics, who celebrated the arrival of their new archbishop while also mourning the murder of one of the faithful.
 Archbishop Emil Shimoun Nona, whose election as the archbishop of Mosul of the Chaldeans was confirmed Nov. 13 by Benedict XVI, was officially installed in the archeparchy Sunday.
 AsiaNews reported that the same day, Saadallah Youssif Jorjis, a 52-year-old Syrian Catholic, a husband and father of two daughters, was shot dead.
 The news source, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the "persecution continues in the midst of general indifference."
 He asserted that this "ethnic cleansing" currently taking place in Mosul is "very similar to what happened in 2008."
 "They want to push Christians to the plain of Nineveh, and the community has lost confidence in the future," the source added.
 Jorjis owned a produce shop near his home, and was married to a woman who worked as a nurse.
 A few days earlier, on Jan. 12, another grocer, Hikmat Sleiman, 75, was killed by an armed group.
 Archbishop Rahho
 The 2008 wave of violence claimed the life of the former archbishop of Mosul of the Chaldeans, Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho.
 He was kidnapped in February of that year outside of a church where he had led the Way of the Cross on a Lenten Friday. During the kidnapping, his three companions were killed.
 For days there was no news from the archbishop or his kidnappers. Finally, after a phone call from the assailants, the prelate's body was found March 13 in a shallow grave. He was 65.
 The election of Archbishop Nona took place according to the tradition in the Eastern-rite Churches. The synod of bishops of the Chaldean Church made the decision, which was then approved by the Pope.
 Sunday's ceremony for Archbishop Nona was attended by several political and Muslim leaders.