The monks in Erbil: in Mosul they destroyed the churches, we repay with prayer 

The final day of Francis' Apostolic Journey to Iraq will take him to Mosul, Qaraqosh, Erbil. From the Nineveh Plain to the Autonomous Region of Kurdistan. Here the Chaldean community that lived in Mosul found shelter, in the monastery destroyed by the Islamic extremist fury. The Superior: Christians have not lost their faith, this is the important thing. The Pope does not come to solve our problems, but to teach us to love each other.

Antonella Palermo - Vatican City The ISIS occupation of the Nineveh Plain has emptied this region of the Christian presence. More than 100,000 Christians have been forced to flee their homes along with other persecuted minorities such as the Yazidis. Many of these families have found refuge in Iraqi Kurdistan, in the Christian quarter of Erbil, in refugee camps in Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Lebanon, or have sought asylum in Europe and other continents. In recent years, at least 55,000 Iraqi Christians have also expatriated from Iraqi Kurdistan. The destructive fury of the jihadists has not spared their churches and properties, which have been destroyed or severely damaged.

The reconstruction of the historical Christian heritage An important part of the Christian historical heritage was saved from this destruction thanks to Monsignor Najib Mikhael Moussa, Archbishop of Mosul of the Chaldeans, who managed to save over 800 historical manuscripts ranging from the 13th to the 19th century. A feat for which the Dominican prelate was awarded the Sakharov Prize in 2020 by the EU. Aid to the Church in Need is contributing to the reconstruction of houses (more than 14,000) and churches that have been destroyed or damaged (of the 363 structures concerned which also include buildings with health, social support and educational functions, 34 were totally destroyed, 132 burned and 197 partially damaged).

The slow return In November 2020, almost half of Nineveh's Christians returned, while 80% of the churches in the Plain were undergoing reconstruction (with the exception of Mosul, where, due to administrative slowness, work only began in one church out of ten). To date, about 57% of the damaged homes belonging to Christian families in the region and included in the intervention plan had been put back on their feet, of which 35% thanks to ACS which between 2014 and the end of 2020 collected more than 48 million euros to guarantee the Christian presence in Iraq.

Anche il monastero di San Giorgio a Mosul è andato distrutto. Padre Yohanna Samer Soreshow, dopo l’ordinazione sacerdotale in Iraq, nel 2006 si spostava in Italia per frequentare il Pontificio Istituto Biblico fino al 2014. Avrebbe voluto rientrare nel suo Paese ma la situazione di assalto dell’Isis glielo impedì: quattro giorni dopo la sua difesa di dottorato, il sedicente Stato islamico entrava a Mosul, sua città natale. Sapeva che non sarebbe più potuto tornare là, si diresse a Erbil. Il sacerdote, ora Superiore della Comunità di monaci Caldei a Erbil, racconta come due anni fa sia cominciata la costruzione di un nuovo monastero per sostituire quello perso a Mosul.

VATICAN NEWS ~ ITALY ~ HOLY SEE PRESS (Translated 03/07/2021) per: https://www.vaticannews.va/it/chiesa/news/2021-03/i-monaci-a-erbil-a-mosul-hanno-distrutto-le-chiese.html