Assault on the House of the Chaldean Catholic Hierarch

It seems that our Eastern Rite brethrens in Iraq are dealing with a very dangerous ordeal to keep the faith, namely those in the Chaldean Catholic Church

Article from the Net Site Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA)

"Gunmen Attack Iraqi Archbishop’s Residence


13 Jan 2012 

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Gunmen shooting at guards keeping watch over the archbishop’s residence in Kirkuk in northern Iraq triggered a firefight, leaving two of the gunmen dead and five policemen wounded.

Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Louis Sako told Vatican Radio that he had just returned home from a parish visit before the drive-by attack Jan. 11.

After the shooting, the archbishop said he immediately went to the scene to We are not afraid,” he said. “It’s also true that the situation is a bit tense, and there’s no order or control in the country. We, however, were not afraid, at least not immediately.”

Archbishop Sako said he believes the gunmen had the wrong target. Police suspect the attackers were targeting a member of the Iraqi parliament who lives next to the archbishop’s house and whose home also was attacked Jan. 8, according to the Rome-based AsiaNews.

Archbishop Sako said the gunmen were from Baghdad “ and, therefore, were not sure where to go. They found themselves facing our security guards and fired, without knowing who they were shooting at.”

Three men in a white car shot at the residence guards. The guards at the archbishop’s residence and the parliamentarian’s house returned fire. Police nearby intervened as well, the archbishop said.

Two of the three gunmen were killed, and one was arrested."

His Excellency Louis Sako, Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Kirkuk

Being a Eastern Rite Christian and living in the Middle East is not a joke to be use to. Living a Christian life is a total Sacrifice even at the price of Martyrdom so let us pray for our Eastern Rite faithful and hierarchs, namely the Eastern Catholic ones, for our Lord by his grace and mercy protect them