Pope backs action to protect Iraq minorities if U.N. OKs

ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE (AP) — Pope Francis on Monday endorsed the use of force to stop Islamist militants from attacking religious minorities in Iraq but said the international community — and not just one country — should decide how to intervene.

Francis also said he and his advisers were considering whether he might go to northern Iraq himself to show solidarity with persecuted Christians. But he said he was holding off for now on a decision.

Italian Catholic community warns Christians at risk in Iraq. - 400,000 Christians live in the Niniveh province

An Italian Catholic community warned Wednesday of violence against Christians in Iraq, where a jihadist takeover in Mosul has seen as many as half a million people flee their homes.

"From the sketchy information coming out of Mosul it appears Christians are once more the victims of terrorism and bloodshed," the Sant'Egidio community, which promotes dialogue between religions, said in a statement.

Christians mark Holy Fire rite on eve of Easter Read more: Christians mark Holy Fire rite on eve of Easter

Thousands of Christian pilgrims thronged the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem’s Old City Saturday amid tight security to celebrate the Holy Fire ceremony on the eve of Easter.


Believers hold that a divine fire from heaven ignites a flame in the church, built on the site where Christians say Jesus Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected.

The flame is then passed between worshippers, candle to candle.

Syrian rebels burn and plunder religious sites – Human Rights Watch

Syrian rebels have looted and burned minority religious sites in Northern Syria, US-based Human Rights Watch says. The attacks highlight the increasingly sectarian nature of the conflict as the bloodshed continues unabated.
The three incidents took place in November and December of last year in religiously mixed areas.
Rebels looted two Christian churches in separate villages in the relatively peaceful western governorate of Latakia, local witnesses told the rights watchdog.
They also destroyed a Shiite ‘husseiniya’ – a religious site devoted to Hussein, a martyr in Shiite tradition – in Idlib governorate.
In all three cases, Human Rights Watch found evidence showing the attacks on the religious sites were directly connected to the areas coming under the control of the armed rebels.