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Their cathedrals stand silent and their neighbourhoods are rapidly emptying. Now Iraq’s Christians face two further unthinkable realities: that Christmas this year is all but cancelled, and that few among them will stay around to celebrate future holy days.

It has been the worst of years for the country’s Christians, with thousands fleeing in the past month and more leaving the country during 2010 than at any time since the invasion nearly eight years ago. Christian leaders say there have been few more defining years in their 2,000-year history in central Arabia.

The latest exodus follows a massacre led by al-Qaida at a Chaldean Catholic church in central Baghdad on 31 October, which left about 60 people dead, almost 100 maimed and an already apprehensive community terrified. Since then, the terrorist group has targeted Christians in their homes, including family members of those who survived the attack.

In Baghdad, as well as the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, Christmas services have been cancelled for fear of further violence. Church leaders said they would not put up Christmas decorations or celebrate midnight mass. They told families not to decorate their homes, for fear of attack after al-Qaida reiterated its threat to target Christians earlier this week.

"Now more than 80% of Christians are not going to the churches," said the head of Iraq’s Christian Endowment group, Abdullah al-Noufali. "There is no more sunday school, no school for teaching Christianity. Yesterday we had a discussion about what we would do for Christmas. We took a decision just to do one mass. In years before we had many masses."

Noufali’s church was closed and barricaded in 2005 when violence was consuming Baghdad. Many others had stayed open since then. Until now. In the wake of the attack on the Our Lady of Salvation church, at least 10 churches are believed to have been closed. At others, congregations are down to a handful.

Iraq’s Christian population has halved since the ousting of Saddam Hussein. But in the past two months, the rate of departure has soared. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees is reporting high numbers of registrations by Christians in Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. And in Iraq’s Kurdish north, the number of refugees is overwhelming.

Christians have been arriving since the president of the Kurdish regional government, Massoud Barazani, offered them protection and refuge days after the massacre.

Kurdish officials say at least 1,000 families have taken up the offer. Noufali believes the number is far higher. He says the Kurds have been warm and welcoming, but fears that moving there does not offer his community a long-term solution.

"We have seen in Kurdistan that they have no ability to accept the Kurdish students in the universities," he said. "There are not enough chairs in the university for them. They must have opportunity to learn and work. The problem is not just security."

In Lebanon, the plight of Iraq’s Christians is being carefully scrutinised. Father Yusef Muwaness, of the Council of Catholic Churches in the Middle East, said: "We understand the shock [the Iraqis] are enduring. We want them to know that they won’t be left alone.

"There are ancient issues at work. These people [al-Qaida] are killing because of a fatwa. There has not been a mufti who has stood up and said this is wrong."

Lebanon’s Christians once held a demographic majority. Emigration and a brutal civil war has whittled numbers away. Amin Gemayel, a former Lebanese president and now patriarch of many of the country’s remaining Christians, believes far more could be done by Muslim leaders to ensure that the exodus is not total.

"The Christians were very nationalistic," he said. "They are part of the foundations of this area. We can’t understand such extremity then passivity from the leaders. When the region is completely cleansed of other religions (apart from Islam) it will be a surrender to the fundamentalists."

In the Chaldean archdiocese in Baabda, above Beirut, Father Hanna has been receiving Iraqi families fleeing their homeland. "I would go back there to give a service in front of one person, if I had to," he said. "But even that may not be possible now. Since 1 November, we have seen 450 families register here. Many more have gone to the UN."

Among those who have stayed in Iraq and tried to build a new life in the north, there are mixed feelings. "Three days after the church attack I left my house (in Baghdad) and came to the KRG," said Georges Qudah, 30, a pharmacy assistant. "At the main checkpoint I said we are a Christian family, and they said we are welcome to stay as long as we want. I feel safe and comfortable here, but the problem is how to live. The council here has given us blankets and beds, but housing is very expensive."

In Baghdad, there are few signs of the joy of Christmas.

"There is no hope here anymore," says Noufali. "No one can believe they [the Christians] will stay. Christmas came with two messages, peace in the world and hope for the people and we need these two things for our life in Iraq. If there are no more Christians here, I am certain Iraq will become a more dangerous country."

Christianity in the Middle East

Freedom of worship for Christians varies greatly across the Middle East.

In Lebanon, where about half the population are Christian, believers are allowed to practise their faith without fear of persecution. The Maronite Church is the largest, most politically active and influential denomination, holding 34 of the 64 Christian seats in the Lebanese parliament.

In Jordan, Christians are free to profess their faith, build churches, schools, hospitals and universities. They attend mass and there are public celebrations of religious festivals and ceremonies. They experience less discrimination and more freedom than fellow believers in Egypt and Iraq. There is a similar portrait of stability and freedom in Syria, where Christians comprise up to 10% of the population.

Evangelising bvy Protestants in Jordan has prompted a crackdown on churches, visas and summer camps. Attempting to convert Muslims is illegal, but there is no law against proselytising to other Christians and some Catholic and Orthodox groups have complained of energetic wooing from Protestants. It is this evangelising that has offended authorities, keen to avoid religious zealotry of any sort.

What Saudi Arabia lacks in violent persecution it makes up for in outright intolerance. There is no religious freedom in Saudi Arabia, which counts a million Catholics in its population. The country allows Christians to enter for work purposes but severely restricts the practise of their faith.

Christians worship in private homes and there are bans on religious articles including Bibles, crucifixes, statues, carvings and items bearing religious symbols. The religious police bar the practice of any religion other than Islam. Conversion of a Muslim to another religion is considered apostasy and carries a death sentence if the accused does not recant. Still, Christians in Saudi Arabia are positively blessed compared with those of Iraq. Riazat Butt

Christian exodus from Iraq gathers pace | by Martin Chulov in Baghdad |  The Guardian

Their churches are burnt-out husks and heaps of rubble. Their businesses are targeted by extremists. Their leaders are kidnapped and assassinated. The Christian minority in Iraq, once a community left in peace to prosper, continues to be under threat from a campaign of persecution which has forced as many as 500,000 Christians to flee the country.

During the reign of Saddam Hussein, the estimated 1.4 million Christians – many of them Chaldean-Assyrians and Armenians, with small numbers of Roman Catholics – were generally left alone if they didn’t oppose the government and they lived in relative peace with the country’s Sunnis and Shiites.

Some, such as Tariq Aziz, Saddam’s foreign minister and deputy prime minister, rose to the highest levels of power.

Things changed after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam’s regime. Christians became a target of violence when Islamist groups and ordinary Muslims angered by the military action began seeing them as the enemy, associating with them with the "crusaders" – the invading armies of the United States and Britain.

Tensions over their religious ties with the West and their differing beliefs to the strict Islamic majority, which had been simmering for years, spilled over as the occupying forces dug in.

"Iraqi Christians became caught up in the overlapping violence and multiple conflicts unleashed after 2003," Dr. Kristian Ulrichsen, an Iraq expert at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told Deutsche Welle. "They became exposed to the similar patterns of kidnappings, extortion, beheadings, rape and forced taxation that affected all other communities as the erosion of central government control left a security vacuum that was exploited by organised and opportunistic criminality and anti-occupation resistance groups."

"In addition to this, Christians specifically were targeted by Church bombings and assassination attempts owing to a perceived association with the aims and intentions of the occupying forces."

Association with occupying powers makes Christians targets

In 2004, insurgents launched a coordinated bombing campaign targeted churches in Baghdad. In 2007, after Pope Benedict XVI made comments perceived to be anti-Islam, nationwide attacks on churches hit an all-time high and a priest in the northern city of Mosul was kidnapped and later found beheaded. In January 2009, 40 Iraqi Christians were killed and approximately 12,000 fled their homes.

In February this year, at least 10 Iraqi Christians were killed by unknown gunmen in Mosul as the country was preparing for the March 7 elections. The escalating violence ahead of the ballot led to hundreds of Iraqi Christians taking to the streets in a number of protests, chanting slogans such as "Stop the killing of Christians."

During the years since the invasion, life for the Christian minority has become beset by danger. The waves of violent attacks against churches, businesses and homes have forced more than half of the Christian population to flee for their lives, according to statistcs from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). Those churches which remain standing are mostly empty, their congregations long gone or too afraid to attend.

"The Christian minority in Iraq has been reduced to a shadow of its former self," said Ulrichsen. "Up to two-thirds of the pre-war community has been displaced or forced to flee the country. Although conditions in Iraq have improved somewhat since 2007, the security situation remains intensely fragile and prone to reversal, and the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes has been very slow and halting."

"There’s a real possibility that 2,000 years of settlement by Christian communities in Iraq is in danger of near-total extinction."

US withdrawal leave Christians’ fate in Iraqi hands

As the United States steps up its military withdrawal from Iraq, the Christian minority is forced to look at the Iraqi security structure for protection. However, the prospect of being protecetd by the Iraqi police and armed forces fails to instill any confidence in the Christian minority.

"The greatest concern about a US pullout is that extremists will exploit any lapses in security and attack vulnerable groups, including Christians," Samer Muscati, an Iraq expert from the Middle East division at Human Rights Watch, told Deutsche Welle.

"Although the Iraqi government publicly condemns violence against Christians and other minority groups, it has not taken measures to bolster security in areas where minorities are particularly vulnerable to attacks, and it has not thoroughly investigated attacks," he added. "Iraqi security forces rarely apprehend, prosecute and punish perpetrators of such attacks, which has created a climate of impunity."

Christians search for ways to protect themselves

One muted proposal to protect the Christian minority involves the creation of an autonomous province on a neglected area of land located to the north and west of Mosul, called Ninawah Plain, which would act as a sanctuary.

While advocates of the idea say it wouldn’t stop the violence against Christians in the large, high-risk cities of Mosul, Baghdad, and Al-Basrah, it would give the Christians a place where their needs could be met, their beliefs supported and their security guaranteed.

The proposals suggest that Ninaweh Plain would an autonomous administrative region in which the Christian minority could govern themselves and would be free to participate in the federalist system which is developing in Iraq.

Creation of autonomous region plagued by problems

However, the idea of an autonomous region for the Christian minority in reality looks unviable.

"The image of a real autonomy is unrealistic," Nizar Hanna, director of the Assyrian Democratic Movement’s Baghdad office, told Deutsche Welle. "Up to now, there are no concrete plans which show how this would work. Even in the Kurdish constitution, they have the right to autonomy in the areas where they are the majority but nowhere is this the case. Besides, there are no areas in which only Christians live. Shabak, Yazidis, Kurds and Arabs also live there."

"To an extent a safe haven for Christians exists in Iraqi Kurdistan," Kristian Ulrichsen said. "Thousands of internally displaced Iraqi Christians have moved there. Although viable on humanitarian grounds, the creation of a specific region for Christians would be a short-term measure that does not offer a longer-term solution to the reconstruction of Iraqi society and the reintegration of its communities."

Iraqi Christians fear escalating persecution as US forces withdraw | World | Deutsche Welle | 09.10.2010

Economic aid from Kurdistan interrupted, collection money halved due to emigration of the faithful, Mgr. Warduni sets out the Chaldean Churches’ plan "to help pay the salaries of priests and catechists".

Baghdad (AsiaNews) – Facing a critical economic situation, to the point where it can’t even pay its’ priest’s salaries, the Chaldean Church in Iraq is obliged to rent a private space adjacent to its parish in Baghdad. Branded as "dangerous lies" rumours of the sale of the church of Our Lady of Sorrows (the first cathedral of Iraq, where the patriarchs are buried, of priceless historical value,-ed), the Auxiliary Bishop of the capital. Shlemon Warduni explains to AsiaNews how the Church in Iraq is coping with this crisis.

A number of factors explain the current difficulties facing the Chaldean Patriarchate. "For about 10 months, the finance minister of Kurdistan, Sargis Agajan, halted all funding to the Christian community, which in recent years had ensured a stable income. Not only that: "With the massive migration of our people – says the bishop – the revenue coming from church collections have halved, while the government gives us absolutely no help."

Thus, a Patriarchate committee – composed of four lay people, of which Warduni is supervisor with Card. Emmanuel III Delly in charge – is studying plans to utilise Church property to generate revenue to help pay the salaries of priests, to cover the cost of running parishes and catechesis (such as the transport of children and books). This emphasizes the bishop of Baghdad, is an important point: "The Protestants are taking our young people away and say they are evangelizing in our place, we must safeguard our children and our catechism."

For now, it has been decided to "rent the land adjacent to the former cathedral of Baghdad (outside the walls of the church itself) for 15 years, to a private party who will build stores there." At the end of the contract everything will return to the Patriarchate. The area surrounding "Our Lady of Sorrows" is the first Christian neighbourhood of Baghdad, "the Haqid Nasara" (in English "the meeting place of Christians"). Here, until the ’70s, all Christian denominations in the country were focused. Now it has become a very commercial area filled with markets and shops, the heart of the city, where the value of buildings and land has increased a lot. For logistical reasons – the church is situated in an alley that cannot be accessed in a car – the Chaldean cathedral was transferred some years ago to the Church of St Joseph in the neighbourhood of Karada. Despite the security problems faced by the Christians in the capital, "Our Lady of Sorrows" is still open: "A priest has also been appointed to say mass on some occasions" says Bishop. Warduni.

"The diocese of Baghdad, – the auxiliary bishop concludes, – is studying and working on projects that can bring economic help to the other dioceses of Iraq."

IRAQ Financial crisis forces Patriarchate to rent out the courtyards of churches in Baghdad – Asia News

قال رئيس أساقفة الموصل المطران أميل شمعون نونا، إن الكنيسة لا تمتلك أي توجه سياسي معين أو تفضيل لشخصية أو قائمة ما، بل أن جل ما يهمها هو خير البلاد بشكل عام، وفق تعبيره .
وأضاف مطران الموصل في مقابلة أجرتها معه وكالة (آكي) الايطالية للأنباء الجمعة أن المسيحيين شأنهم شأن بقية أطياف المجتمع، يمارسون حقهم الشرعي بمنح أصواتهم لمن يرونه مستحقا لهذا، بحرية تامة وبدون أي توجيه أو ضغط من قبل أية جهة كانت، حسب قوله .
أما بشأن الجو العام للانتخابات والتوقعات المستقبلية فقد أشار المطران نونا إلى أنه يصعب كثيرا التكهن بالنتائج لتعدد الجهات المتنافسة وتميزها ، لكن الشعب العراقي بأسره يعول على هذه الانتخابات، آملا أن تؤدي إلى تحسن أوضاعه.

روابط ذات علاقة: Iraq: Bishop welcomes greater security ahead of poll | Gorilla’s Guides

Mosul, 5 March (AKI) – As Iraqis prepared to vote in nationwide elections at the weekend, the head of the Chaldean church in the northern city of Mosul welcomed increased security for Christians ahead of the polls. Monsignor Emil Shimoun Nona, told Adnkronos International (AKI) that there had been a "net improvement in security in the past few days" due to a curfew introduced for the election and other security measures.

Pope Benedict XVI recently expressed his concern about violent attacks on Christians by extremists in Iraq.

Three Christians were killed in Mosul last week and two women were raped. The victims included a father and son who were killed in their home. At least eight Christians have been murdered since mid-February.

"Now the army and the police are knocking on our doors from time to time to be sure that we are doing well," the bishop told AKI.

Nona said the church did not have any preference about the election outcome but looked forward to an improvement in the quality of life in Iraq.

"The church has no particular political orientation or any preference for a given person or list (of candidates), " he said.

"The only thing that interests us is the general well-being of the country. Christians like other members of our society are exercising their right to vote for whoever they believe deserves it, in total freedom and without any directive or pressure from anyone."

The Mosul bishop said it was difficult to predict the outcome of the vote.

"The Iraqi people are counting on this election and hoping for an improvement," he told AKI. "The situation has become extremely complex and people have had enough of the tension."

He said following recent attacks, 800 Christian families had fled from Mosul to surrounding villages and most of them were waiting until after the election before they returned home.

"This election will help to bring about a return to normality in the country, so that people can return to their daily life and the church can go forward with its mission."

Last week’s brutal killings were the latest in a spate of murders targetting Christians ahead of Sunday’s election, which is being seen as crucial test of democracy in a country wracked by sectarian strife.

It is not clear if the spikebis in attacks against Christians is an attempt at voter intimidation by factions involved in a violent territorial and power struggle between Kurds and Arabs in Mosul or another attempt by Al-Qaeda to derail the election.

Christians number around 250,000 to 300,000 in Nineveh province, of which Mosul is capital.

Source: Iraq: Bishop welcomes greater security ahead of poll – Adnkronos Religion

Kirkuk (AsiaNews) – Christians in the East are decreasing in numbers due to wars, migration, low birth rates, the expansion of Islam and divisions within the community itself. The threats and pressures to sell land and houses, bought by Muslims and with the support – including economic – of fundamentalists, suggests that the Christian presence in the Middle East is destined disappear.   

The Synod of the Churches of the Middle East can help us avoid this fate if we go to the roots of the crisis. 

The early Church (which was Middle Eastern) was close to people and presented the Gospel message conforming to the culture of the people, proclaiming the faith in their own language, so that the message was attractive and effective. The prophetic role of the Church was manifest and worked in the truth and from it, people were able to derive meaning for their lives and a sign of great freedom and dignity. For this reason, many converted and decided to embrace Christianity.   
Today, the Christian presence is a cultural one, a historical and tradition-bound presence, an ethnic identity according to the millet system, which is a perfected form of the Institute of Islamic dhimma [the pact of "protection" for non-Muslims, which made Christians and Jews second class citizens - ed.] The Apostolic Churches, however, have lost the enthusiasm of their origins in the work of witness: the role of prophecy, love and zeal for the proclamation of the Gospel to others.   

The future of the community depends on several factors, two of which are of fundamental importance: the relationship between Christians, i.e relations between the different Churches and the relationship with Muslims. 

The relations between Christians   

Christians today need to promote, in a continuous and influential manner, a culture of love and dialogue, openness and diversity. Current divisions leave a strong and negative mark on their presence and their testimony. The relationship between the various churches is going through difficult times and seems to move backward.   

The Church is the community of believers who look to Christ and testify to the announcement of Good News, which is continuously renewed. The Church can not merely limit itself to being a sociological, ethnic or cultural entity… Preaching the Gospel means welcoming the Good News with the commitment to live it and correcting erred behaviour. Baptism becomes the culmination of the journey of faith. This should be done not only with the elite, but also with simple people.     

Most churches in the Middle East are small churches and live with an identity crisis because of their dual membership (i.e.: ethnic identity of a political, social and cultural nature and the one linked to the universality of their mission). And groups of evangelical churches: do we call them churches in the nominal sense or are they rooted or tradition?      We need a serious self-criticism and to reconsider our reality and our mission. The future depends on our cooperation, our service and our witness. We are one family, we must overcome the barriers that divide us. We are united in the Word of God, we have the same profession of faith, despite the differences in form, and generally, the same sacraments. We must strive for mutual enrichment and deepen all the peculiarities of our faith in God’s love, forgiveness, the joy that comes from welcoming.   

We all need to be patient and learn to read history, to assess the facts impartially without emotion. The real strategy is to work together Christians of Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Even the Christian political parties are divided and in conflict, they must unite to support the Christian presence, otherwise our fate will be of wailing and lamentation in front of our land.   

Dialogue with Islam   

Today the affirmation of political Islam is clear. It has made this religious identity the central one in the Middle East. This identity has overshadowed the Arab nationalist ideology (the umma) and political participation derives from the principles of Islam.   

Together Christian churches and not isolated, must talk to face this reality and establish rules of civil coexistence.   

Dialogue with Islam is the only civilian rule, effective for interacting with everyone, taking into account all that has been achieved over the course of history especially during the periods known as the Ommiad (7th – 8th century) and Abbasids (8th – 13th  century).   

Christians have an obligation today to offer theological approaches to the faith in a new and understandable language, the line of biblical theology rather than in a classic, philosophical language. 

In this dialogue, they must be allowed to demonstrate the contribution they have given to the Arab and Islamic civilization, the history of these regions is not entirely Muslim, but pluralistic, and make sure it is recognised that the Christian Arab factor is a source of enrichment rather than depletion . They must clearly state that they had no relation with the Crusaders when they invaded the East; nor with the colonial powers that invaded the Arab countries without taking the national charter into account; nor with the occupation forces in Iraq and Afghanistan; they have always supported the cause of the Palestinians. These points are very important at the level of Muslim public awareness.   
Dialogue is the only way to resolve differences and restore security and stability. The opening up of Christians, their qualifications and skills may be useful for Muslims. For this we must encourage:   

a) adoption of new programs of religious education, based on tolerance and acceptance of others, refraining from all forms of violence.   

b) ensure that all are equal before law with equal rights – without any discrimination of race, religion or sex – which creates trust and improves coexistence, strengthening the sense of responsibility of each individual.   

c) a commitment to promoting and encouraging solidarity with the poor and marginalized, whatever their race, colour or religion, overcoming injustices and wrongs.  

Source: VATICAN – MIDDLE EAST Synod of Middle East Churches: mission and a return to dialogue by Archbishop Louis Sako – Asia News

Mosul (AsiaNews) – The Diocese of Mosul in northern Iraq is celebrating the appointment of Rev Emil Shimoun Nona as its new archbishop. Pope Benedict XVI today approved his canonical election by the Synod of Bishops of the Chaldean Church. The clergyman belongs to the eparchial clergy of Alqosh and has been called to lead the diocese left vacant in March 2008 by the abduction and subsequent murder of Mgr Paul Faraj Rahho. Mosul Catholics welcomed his appointment with “joy and renewed hope.”

Rev Emil Shimoun Nona was born in Alqosh on 1 November 1967. In 1985, he entered the Chaldean Patriarchal Seminary and was ordained as a priest on 11 January 1991 in Baghdad. From 1993 to 1997, he was parish vicar in Alqosh, then parish priest until 2000, when he went to study at Pontifical Lateran University.

He graduated in theology in 2005 and then came home to perform his pastoral ministry as parish priest in Alqosh. Today, he is protosyncellus in the Archeparchy of Alqosh and teaches anthropology at Babel College. He speaks, Arabic, Italian and Chaldean Neo-Aramaic and knows English.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Catholic sources in Mosul said that the faithful were happy about the new archbishop, who is a source of “renewed hope for the local diocese.”

“We were waiting, anxious about the appointment. We hope he starts playing his role as soon as possible, and that he puts order in the diocese and become an authoritative voice that can get Christian rights respected.”

Since 13 March 2008, the Archdiocese of Mosul has been without a pastor, following the death of Mgr Rahho in captivity. “Since then many things have changed,” the source told AsiaNews. “The number of faithful has dropped because many have fled.”

“Under Saddam, the largest parish in the diocese had more members that the entire diocese does today.”

The source slams the atmosphere of “fear and in security” that is felt today in Mosul and the campaign of persecution against local minorities, a situation recently confirmed by Human Rights Watch.

“Christians,” he said, “are caught up in a political battle full of episodes of violence. Those who are left and the new pastor now have the task of rebuilding the Church and the life of the faithful.” (DS)

IRAQ Mosul celebrating the appointment of new archbishop after the death of Mgr Rahho – Asia News

AMMAN – Pope Benedict XVI urged the world to make every effort to protect Iraq’s Christian minority in a speech on Saturday to Muslim leaders in neighbouring Jordan.

Among his audience in Amman’s huge Al-Hussein Mosque was Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly, head of the Chaldean Church, Iraq’s largest Christian denomination, who made the trip to the Jordanian capital for the papal visit.

“I urge diplomats and the international community they represent, together with local political and religious leaders, to do everything possible to ensure the ancient Christian community of that noble land its fundamental right to peaceful coexistence with their fellow citizens,” the pontiff said.

Estimated to number some 800,000 at the time of the US-led invasion of 2003, Christians have been prominent among the 2.7 million Iraqis who fled their homes during the sectarian violence that followed and as few as 400,000 are now believed to remain in their homeland.

The pope also called for continued efforts to reconcile Iraq’s feuding religious groups and reconstruct the country after decades of war and sanctions.

“The international community’s efforts to promote peace and reconciliation, together with those of the local leaders, must continue in order to bear fruit in the lives of Iraqis,” he said.

“I wish to express my appreciation for all those who are assisting in the endeavours to deepen trust and to rebuild the institutions and infrastructure essential to the well-being of that society.”

He paid tribute to the Jordanian authorities for giving “welcome refuge” to large numbers of the Iraqis fleeing the violence in their homeland. Only Syria has taken in more Iraqi refugees.

The pope has a longstanding invitation to visit Iraq but the still restive country is not on the itinerary for his current Holy Land tour, his first since becoming pontiff. He is to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories after Jordan.

Source: Khaleej Times Online – Pope urges world to protect Iraq Christians