Catholic church in Iraq – Wikipedia

District of the Latin Church in Iraq as well as in neighboring states

L’ Catholic Church in Iraq (En Arabe: the Catholic Church in Iraq, Translattéré: alkanisat alkathulikiat fi aleiraq ), designates the institutional organization and its local community having for religion Catholicism in Iraq.

The Catholic Church in Iraq belongs to 17 ecclesiastical districts which are not subject to a national jurisdiction within a national church but are subject to the universal jurisdiction of the Pope, bishop of Rome, within the “Universal Church ^{[ first ]} ».

In close communion with the Holy See, the bishops of the courts in Iraq are members of two consultation bodies:

The Catholic Church is authorized in Iraq.

The Catholic Church is a minority religious community of this country.

Sharia law around Iraq.

• Member country of the organization of Islamic cooperation where Sharia law does not play a role in the judicial system
• Countries where sharia applies to questions of personal status (marriage, divorce, inheritance and parental authority)
• Country where sharia applies entirely, both personal status issues and criminal procedures
• Countries with regional variations in the application of sharia

Seven articles of the Iraq Constitution authorize freedom of religion ^{[ 2 ]} and therefore the Catholic Church ^{[ 3 ]} :

• Article 2 stipulates that “the Constitution fully guarantees religious rights to freedom of belief and religious worship of all individuals as Christians”;
• Article 3 stipulates that “Iraq is a country with multiple religions and confessions”;
• Article 10 stipulates that “the State undertakes to guarantee the free practice of rituals”;
• Article 14 stipulates that “the Iraqis are equal before the law, without discrimination based on religion”;
• Article 41 stipulates that “the Iraqis are free of their commitment to personal status in accordance with their religion”;
• Article 42 stipulates that “everyone has freedom of belief”;
• Article 43 stipulates that “followers of all religions and confessions are free”.

However, two articles make Iraq not a secular state as was the previous regime to secular institutions, but a religious state with Islam for religion of state religion ^{[ 4 ]} and legislation that has its source in Sharia law:

• Article 2:
  • “1. Islam is the official religion of the State and a fundamental source of legislation. »;
  • “A) No law can be promulgated if it is contrary to the established principles of Islam. »;
  • “2. The Constitution guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people”;

• Article 3 stipulates that “Iraq is a founding and active member of the Arab League; He applies his charter, and he is part of the Islamic world ”;
• His national motto is ” Allahu akbar ” (God is the greatest).

Apostasy in countries with Muslim predominance.

• Death sentence
• Prison, loss of child care
• Illegal and criminal conversion

Unlike the Koran, the hadiths ^{[ 5 ]} (words attributed to Muhammad and reported by various witnesses) prohibit apostasy under penalty of death. The laws and regulations of personal engagement therefore prevent the conversion of a Muslim to Christianity ^{[ 6 ]} .

Proselytism of a religion other than Islam is not allowed ^{[ 7 ]} Even if no law expressly prohibits proselytism ^{[ 8 ]} .

Article 372 of the Iraqi Penal Code of 1969 orders that any person who publicly insults a symbol or a person who is an object of worship can be punished with imprisonment ^{[ 9 ]} .

Non-Muslims are not subject to Sharia law but to the religious law of the community to which citizen belongs. The Constitution guarantees citizens the right to choose which court (civil or religious) they wish to attribute its affairs of personal status, such as marriage, divorce, child care and inheritance.

The law of the personal status of 1959 specifies that the civil court must consult the competent religious authority of a non-Muslim to know his opinion ^{[ ten ]} .

Iraqi law authorizes civil marriage ^{[ 11 ]} . A Muslim woman cannot marry a Christian (sura n ° 2, verse n ° 221). The Catholic court does not authorize the divorce which can however be canceled. Otherwise, the spouses convert to Islam or another Christian confession authorizing divorce.

Of the 328 seats of the Council of Representatives, the law reserves five seats for Christians (Baghdad, Nineve, Kirkouk, Erbil and Dohouk) ^{[ twelfth ]} . In 2009, Christian seats are three (Baghdad, Mossoul and Bassora) ^{[ 13 ]} .

The Catholic Church uses five liturgical rites in Iraq:

At the beginning of XVII ^{It is} century, Emir Afrasiyab de Basra entered business with the Portuguese and then they established a counter in the city and even had permission to build a church

Christianity was introduced in Iraq in the 1st century by the Apostle Thomas and Mar Addai (Thaddée d’édesse) and his students Aggai and Saint-Mari ^{[ 14 ]} .

At the beginning of XVII ^{It is} century, the Emir Afrasiyab de Basra entered business with the Portuguese and then they established a counter in the city and even had permission to build a church.

Sous Saddam Hussein (1979-2003) [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Saddam Hussein’s regime (1979-2003) brought a severe blow to Christian freedom by nationalizing their schools ^{[ 15 ]} . In addition, Christians were discriminated against with Muslims. A law has established that in public schools, the history of Christianity could only be taught if at least a quarter of the students were Christians. But the presence of a Muslim student was sufficient to impose on everyone the study of the Koran.

Saddam Hussein had a Chaldean Catholic as vice-president, Mikhail Yuhanna, known as Tarek Aziz.

Iraq war (2003-2006) [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The fall in 2003 of the Saddam Hussein regime which had favored minority communities such as Sunnis and Christians at the expense of the Shiite majority, has given way to the latter. Driven with power, the Sunni jihadists then continued the Iraq war.

It was mainly the Shiites who persecuted Christians. Attacks, initially isolated, have turned into persecution ^{[ 16 ]} .

In 2004, at the peak of conflict in Baghdad between Sunni and Shiite jihadists, many Christians fled to the north, Iraqi Kurdistan.

In just five years (2003-2008), the Christian population of Iraq increased from 800,000 to 450,000 faithful ^{[ 17 ]} .

More than 65 churches have been attacked or destroyed in around thirty attacks. Those who left the country have been to Europe or North America, or to neighboring countries such as Jordan and Syria:

• The first ^is August 2004 , six trapped cars explode at the same time in front of five Christian churches, four in Baghdad and one in Mosul killing 18 dead and sixty wounded;
• At the end of 2004, an armed group of the PDK attacked the Syriac Saint-Jean-Baptiste Catholic church in Bakhdida, and several faithful were gathered, beaten and taken ^{[ 18 ]} .
• In January 2006 , explosions nearly several Christian churches and buildings in Kirkouk and Baghdad left three dead and nine injured.

Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (2006-2014) [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• In 2007, in Dora, a Christian majority district 10 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, Sunni jihadists who established an alleged “Islamic State in Iraq”, takes Jiziya (infidel tax), which rises to at 200 dollars per year ^{[ 19 ]} ;

• Some Christian families are forced to give one of their daughters in marriage to a Muslim to stay;

• A fatwa prohibits bringing the cross to the neck. As for the churches, it was with grenades that they were forced to remove the crosses from their domes and their facades;

• In mid- May 2007 , the Assyrian church of Saint-Georges was burned.
• In June 2007 , the parish priest Ragheed Aziz Ghanni is attacked in Mosul, the priest and the three sub-diacres that accompany him are killed;
• In January 2008 , the Chaldean church of Saint-Paul in Mosul is almost destroyed by an explosion; The Convent of Dominican nuns “Jadida” is also affected. Three days later, a bomb car exploded against the Chaldean cathedral of the Sacred Heart;
• In February 2008 , the Chaldean Archbishop of Mosul, Paulos Faraj Rahho, is removed, his body will be found a few days later. In the months that followed, 15,000 Christians fled to Lebanon, Syria or Turkey ^{[ 20 ]} .
• Between 2003 and 2009, 710 Christians were murdered ^{[ 21 ]} . The Baghdad seminar and the capital faculty of the capital moved to Ankawa, near Erbil.

Islamic State (2014-2017) [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

From 2014 to 2017, Sunni jihadists checked part of Iraq called the Islamic State:

• In June 2014 , Sunni jihadists occupied the dense areas in Christians, Mosul like the plains of Nineveh-formerly the Iraq region with the highest percentage of non-Muslims. In Mosul, the Sunni jihadists ordered Christians to leave the city under penalty of being killed, unless they convert to Islam or pay Jizya (Dhimmitude tax) ^{[ 24 ]} . Christians no longer received food or water and their houses were tagged by an acronym in painting ^{[ 25 ]} . At the end of July 2014 , about 3,000 Christians fled Mosul ^{[ 26 ]} . More than 120,000 Christians fled the plains of Nineveh to Iraqi Kurdistan (especially in the Erbil region) or abroad ^{[ 27 ]} . Between August and September 2014 , the Saint-Élie de Mossoul monastery is destroyed ^{[ 28 ]} . In November 2014 , Sunni jihadists blew up part of the convent of Chaldean sisters in Alaraby ^{[ 29 ]} . In mars 2015 , the Sunni jihadists chased the monks of the Catholic monastery of the Holys Behnam and Sarah which was demolished with explosive ^{[ 30 ] , [ thirty first ]} . In May 2016 , the only Christians remaining in the Mosul are either imprisoned or disabled ^{[ 32 ] , [ 33 ]} . The city of Mosul was released in July 2017 .
• From 3 to August 15, 2014 , the Sunni jihadists occupied the city of Sinjar, Catholics did not have time to flee and were prisoners until 2015 ^{[ 34 ]} .

• From 6 to August 7, 2014 , Sunni jihadists attacked Christian villages in the plains of Nineveh, including Qaraqosh, forcing more than 120,000 Christians to flee, mainly in the Kurdish area ^{[ 35 ]} .

• Between 2014 and 2017, in Karamlech, the Sunni jihadists burnt down 797 Christian houses and 97 were reduced to nothing.
• From 2003 to mars 2015 , 1,200 Christians were killed (including five priests and Mgr Paulos Rahho), 62 churches have been damaged and more than 100,000 refugees were stripped of all their property ^{[ 36 ]} .
• In July 2015 , two Christians kidnapped in Baghdad were executed despite the payment of a ransom of € 22,000 ^{[ 37 ] , [ 38 ]} .
• In December 2015 , in Kirkouk, the Sunni jihadists destroyed several tombs of two Christian cemeteries ^{[ 39 ]} .
• In April 2016 , Sunni jihadists pulverized the church of the miraculous Virgin also called or “alarm clock” in Mosul to dynamite. ^{[ 40 ]} .

In April 2016 , several hundred Syrian Christians, Chaldeans and Assyrians, of the Nahla region, in the northern Iraqi province of Dohuk, protested the illegal expropriation of their property ^{[ 41 ]} . There have been about 7,000 extortion of ownership of Christians in Baghdad since 2003 ^{[ 42 ]} .

In December 2017 , the Islamic State has been chased from Iraq ^{[ 43 ]} , but more than 120,000 Christians are still inappropriate.

The Catholic Church in Iraq is organized in 17 ecclesiastical districts gathered in five distinct and superimposed territorial jurisdictions (the Latin Church and four oriental Catholic churches) ^{[ 44 ] , [ 45 ]} :

Since the 19th century, there has been an apostolic delegation of Mesopotamia, Kurdistan and Minor Armenia in the country, which has become the post-war Iraq delegation.

Apostolic delegates [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

• Henri-Marie Lover, Op † ( May 25, 1860 – Resign before 7 mars 1865 );
• Nicolás Castells, Ofmcap. † ( November 23, 1866 – September 7, 1873 , deceased);
• Zaccaria fancarli, outmcap. † ( September 7, 1873 succeeded 15 – at November 4, 1873 , deceased);
• Eugène-Louis-Marie Lion, op † ( 13 mars 1874 – August 8, 1883 , deceased);
• Henri-Victor Altamayer, on † ( April 4, 1884 17 – August 28, 1902 ?, resignation);
• Désiré-Jean Drure, OCD † ( 5 mars 1904 – May 28, 1917 , deceased);
• Francois Ricing, at Nonice September 19, 1922 – May 4, 1929 , deceased);
• Antonin-Fernand Drapier, on † ( November 23, 1929 – November 19, 1936 , appointed apostolic delegate in Indochina);
• Georges-Marie de Jonghe d’Ardoye † ( October 16, 1938 – July 6, 1947 , appointed apostolic delegate in Indonesia);
• Armand-Etienne M. Blanquet du Chayla, OCD † (resignation on November 20, 1948 – September 17, 1964 );
• Paul-Marie-Maurice Perrin † ( July 31, 1965 – October 14, 1966 );

Apostolic nonces [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

The August 26, 1966 , the Holy See and Iraq establish diplomatic relations. Iraq’s apostolic nunciature was created October 14, 1966 with the brief As much as the utility You pape paul vi.

• Paul-Marie-Maurice Perrin † ( October 14, 1966 – January 6, 1970 , apostolic nonce named in Ethiopia);
• Paolo Mosconi † ( April 11, 1970 – Retired in May 1971 );
• Jean-COUNDOARD Lucien Ruppha † ( May 8, 1971 – July 13, 1978 , appointed permanent observer from the Holy See to the United Nations Office and specialized institutions in Geneva);
• Antonio Del Giudice † ( December 22, 1978 – August 20, 1982 , deceased);
• Luigi Conti † ( November 19, 1983 – January 17, 1987 , named apostolic nuncio in equator);
• Marian Oles † ( November 28, 1987 – April 9, 1994 , named apostolic nuncio in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan);
• Giuseppe Lazzarotto ( July 23, 1994 – November 11, 2000 named apostolic nuncio in Ireland);
• Fernando Filoni ( January 17, 2001 – February 25, 2006 , named apostolic nuncio in the Philippines);
• Francis Assisi chullikat ( April 29, 2006 – July 17, 2010 , appointed permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations);
• Giorgio Lingua ( September 4, 2010 – 17 mars 2015 , named apostolic nuncio in Cuba);
• Alberto Ortega Martín, since first ^is August 2015 .

In 2009, in the capital Baghdad, there were sixty-five Christian churches, in addition to the convents. About half of the churches are Catholic ^{[ forty six ]} ;

In a population of 39 million inhabitants where 95-98% ^{[ 47 ]} belong to Islam, Christians forms a minority religious community of 400,0000 faithful (1.6%) including 300,000 Catholics (0.95%), then the Orthodox (0.5%) and finally the Protestants (0, 03%).

Before the Iraq war started in 2003, Christians were 1.5 million (6%).

In 2010, Christians were only 800,000 (4%), including 662,000 Catholics, namely: 600,000 Chaldeans (3%), 47,000 Syriacs (90,000 in 2010), 6,000 Latins, 5,000 Armenians , 3,000 melkites, 1,000 maronites.

Orthodox was 197,000, namely: 150,000 Assyrian apostolics, 40,000 Syriacs Orthodox, 4,000 Armenian apostolics and 3,000 Greeks-Orthodox.

Protestants were 1,000.

Between 2003 and 2015, a number of Christians fled to Syria, Jordan, Lebanon or Western countries, dropping the number of Christians in Iraq by 66% (80% since 1990).

Christians in Iraq live mainly in major cities: Baghdad, Bassorah, Erbil, Dohouk, Zakho and Kirkouk, as well as in Assyrian cities and regions such as the plains of Nineveh in the North as Mosul ^{[ 7 ]} .