‘In times of war,’ recalled Redemptorist Archbishop Bashar Warda, ‘it is always the marginalised who suffer the most.’ The chapel of McGivney House, affiliated with the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil, was damaged in an attack. The complex is located in the city of Ankawa and is home to several Christian families. In fact, McGivney House, as it is known locally, was funded entirely by donations from the Knights of Columbus charity to serve as a refuge for Christian families displaced during the IS war from 2014 to 2018.
The archbishop therefore urged ‘the world to remember and pray for the many marginalised people in Iraq, including the small and still threatened Christian minority, who are struggling to remain in their homeland.’
The hope, he concluded, is that these times of violence and war will end, ‘so that our suffering people may still have the chance to return to a life of peace and dignity. We are deeply concerned that our time is running out.’
According to Vatican News, a press release was also issued by the Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil, which reported an attack, possibly carried out by a drone, on buildings owned by the archdiocese, the Blessed Michael McGivney apartment complex in Ankawa in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.
The attack allegedly took place on the evening of 4 March and did not cause any casualties, as the building had been largely evacuated due to its proximity to the city’s international airport.
The same was true for the nearby convent of the Chaldean Daughters of Mary Immaculate, which suffered damage as a result of the attack.
Scala News
Here is the full interview with Redemptorist Archbishop Bashar Warda on EWTN News:
