Mosul (AsiaNews) - The Chaldean archbishop of Mosul is dead.
Archbishop Faraj Rahho was kidnapped last February 29 after the
Stations of the Cross. His kidnappers gave word of his death,
indicating to the mediators where they could recover the body of the
67-year-old prelate. "It is a heavy Cross for our Church, ahead of
Easter", Bishop Rabban of Arbil tells AsiaNews in response to the
news. Leaders of the Chaldean Church, including Bishop Shlemon
Warduni, brought the body to the hospital in Mosul to ascertain the
causes, still unknown, of the archbishop's death. The funeral will
be held tomorrow in the nearby city of Karamles. Archbishop Rahho
will be buried near Fr Ragheed, his priest and secretary killed by a
terrorist brigade on June 3, 2007, while leaving the church after
celebrating Mass.
The archbishop had been very sick. He had suffered a heart
attack a few years ago, and since then he had needed to take
medication every day. The difficult negotiations for his release
carried forward over the past 14 days of his kidnapping had
immediately raised concern because of the total absence of direct
contact with the hostage. The conditions posed by the kidnappers -
sources in Mosul tell AsiaNews - in addition to an outrageous ransom
on the order of millions of dollars, had also included the provision
of weapons and the liberation of Arab prisoners held in Kurdish
prisons.
The news of Archbishop Rahho's death "profoundly wounds and
saddens" the pope, says the director of the Vatican press office, Fr
Federico Lombardi. Benedict XVI hopes that "this tragic event may
renew once again and with greater force the efforts of all, and in
particular of the international community, for the pacification of
this greatly tormented country". Three times in recent days, the
pope had launched an appeal for the liberation of the bishop.
Numerous Muslim leaders had also spoken out for the
prelate's release, both Sunnis and Shiites, in Iraq, Lebanon, and
Jordan, and also condemned the action as "contrary to Islam".
