'Iraqi Christians are now terrified and in shock'

Redemptorist Fr. Vincent Van Vossel, superior of the Redemptorists in Baghdad, said Iraqi Christians are now facing a life or death choice. From Spero News:

"Iraqi Christians are now terrified and in shock. They are faced with a terrible dilemma: emigrate and save the lives of their loved ones, or stay in the country and witness to the faith, risking death." This was according to Fr. Vincent Van Vossel, CSSR, Superior of the Redemptorists order of Catholic priests in Baghdad, after the massacre that took place October 31 in the Syrian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Salvation.

Fr. Vincent, who has lived in Iraq for 40 years and teaches at Babel College in Baghdad, the college affiliated with the Pontifical Urban University, has issued a heartfelt testimony to Fides: "We are living something that is really terrible. There had never been a massacre of such magnitude, all within a church during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. I have visited the church and listened to the testimonies of the faithful in shock. The terrorists mercilessly killed women and children. The community is traumatized. The church looked like a cemetery."

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Please join us in praying for the safety of Iraqi Christians, our Redemptorist confreres, and for peace.