Open Letter of His Excellency Youhanna Boutros (John Peter) Moshe,  Syriac Catholic Archeparch of Mosul and Qaraqosh Sunday, July 27, 2014 To All Priests, to all Monks and Nuns, to all Deacons, and to all those who have faith in Jesus Christ: May the peace and love of God come upon you, your homes, and your families, and upon all those who have come to protect you, and to all those who have come to you for protection! "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." The Gospel according to Saint John, 16:33 With these words, Jesus strengthened the determination of his Apostles, who asked for the perseverance that would confirm their victory for good, and the defeat of evil. The line of lies is a short one. And evil -- regardless of its gaining strength, regardless of the fact that it lasts for long time -- does not prevail. Our appeal to you,...

Located 20 miles north-east of Nineveh, Mar Mattai monastery lies tucked away on top of Maqlub Mountain known to the Assyrians as Tura D'alpayeh . Mosul (Iraq) (AFP) – Jihadist militants have taken over a monastery in northern Iraq, one of the country’s best-known Christian landmarks, and expelled its resident monks, a cleric and residents said Monday. Islamic State (IS) fighters stormed Mar (Saint) Behnam, a 4th century monastery run by the Syriac Catholic church near the predominantly Christian town of Qaraqosh, on Sunday, the sources said. Fighters with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) stormed the Saint Behnam monastery on Monday, located 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Mosul.   “You have no place here anymore, you have to leave immediately,” a member of the Syriac clergy quoted the Sunni militants as telling the monastery’s residents. He said the monks pleaded to be allowed to save some of the monastery’s relics but the fighters refused and ...

"Christian families have been expelled from their houses and their valuables were stolen and ...their houses and property expropriated in the name of the Islamic State."  Genghis Khan "This has never happened in Christian or Islamic history. Even Genghis Khan or Hulagu didn't do this," Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako said.  (Hulagu Khan led a Mongol army which sacked Baghdad in 1258, killing tens of thousands.) An urgent message of  Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Baghdad To all who have a living conscience in Iraq and all the world To the voice of moderate brother Muslims who have a voice in Iraq and all the world To all who have a concern that Iraq could remain a country for all His Children To all leaders of thought and opinion To all who announce the freedom of the human being To all protectors of the dignity of human beings and of religion PEACE AND MERCY FROM GOD! The control exerci...