Iraq's top Christian cleric appeals to Christians to return home

Nov 23, 2007, 17:27 GMT

Rome - Iraq's top Christian cleric, Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad Emmanuel Karim-Delly, on Friday urged thousands of Iraqi Christians who have fled the violence in the country to return home.

Karim-Delly made the appeal in Rome where he will be inducted as Iraq's first cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in a ceremony in St Peter's Square on Saturday.

Speaking at a news conference, the 80-year-old patriarch described his elevation to cardinal as a honour for 'all Iraqis and not just Christians.'

Karim-Delly said he had assured Iraqi leaders he would continue to use his position 'to convince those who have left Iraq to return and help build the country.'

The mostly Chaldean Christians still living in Iraq are now estimated to number 600,000 compared to the 1.2 million living in the country before Saddam Hussein's 2003 overthrow.

The Baghdad patriarch said he had recently discussed with members of Iraq's Shiite Muslim-dominated government measures on safeguarding Iraq's Christian community, which makes up around 3 per cent of the population.

Pressed by a reporter for details on the measures discussed the patriarch chose not to answer, but said the situation in 'tortured Iraq' was gradually improving.

He also said several churches forced to shut down because of the sectarian violence had recently reopened their doors to the faithful.

Karim-Delly in the past has denounced what he called the 'persecution' of Christians in Iraq, but on Friday he was more reconciliatory towards the Baghdad government.

Iraqi leaders had given him 'full support' as shown by a government delegation headed by Human Rights Minister Wijdan Mikhail Salim, herself a Chaldean, who will attend Saturday's ceremony.

'He has done all Iraqis proud,' said the minister, who was also at Friday's news conference.

Karim-Delly is to be made a cardinal along with 22 other clerics at Saturday's ceremony.

Benedict has repeatedly expressed concern over conditions faced by Christians in Islamic countries and the decision to promote to cardinal the Iraqi cleric is widely seen as one more opportunity for the pontiff to draw attention to the issue.