By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Pope Benedict XVI has condemned the most recent spate of violence against the Christian community in the Middle East after al Qaeda terrorists killed 58 Catholics who were attending Mass on Sunday in the Syrian Catholic cathedral in Baghdad.
“I pray for the victims of this senseless violence, all the more ferocious as it has affected unarmed citizens, gathered in the house of God, which is the home of love and reconciliation,” the Pope said after the Angelus prayer yesterday.
The attack occurred on Sunday when al Qaeda terrorists entered Sayidat al-Nejat Cathedral in Baghdad during a Mass and took the congregation hostage. Eyewitnesses say the first thing the gunmen did upon entering the church was shoot the priest. The faithful were held hostage for hours before police managed to enter the building. When they did so, the gunmen blew themselves up with suicide vests, killing themselves and 53 others. Most of the dead were women and children, three priests, 17 Iraqi policemen and five gunmen. Another 67 people were injured.
“All the marks point out that this incident carries the fingerprints of al Qaeda,” Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qader Obeidi said on state television Sunday.
The Islamic State of Iraq later claimed responsibility for the attack. The group includes a number of Sunni extremist organizations and has ties to al Qaeda in Iraq.
The Pope expressed his “affectionate closeness to the Christian community, struck yet again, and I encourage all the pastors and the faithful to be strong and firm in hope. Faced with such episodes of brutal violence that continue to afflict the population of the Middle East, I would like to renew my heartfelt appeal for peace. It is a gift from God, but also the result of the efforts of men of good will, of national and international institutions. We must all join forces to put an end to all forms of violence.”
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