Video: Chaldean Archbishop Shares Latest on Situation Facing Iraqi Christians
Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil sees signs of hope amid continuing uncertainty.
The situation facing Christians in Northern Iraq remains unstable and uncertain but some hopeful signs are emerging and the Trump administration’s aid to the region is “very encouraging,” Chaldean archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil has said.
In this Nov. 26 video interview with the Register, given on the sidelines of the 2nd International Conference on Christian Persecution in Budapest, Archbishop Warda said Erbil’s Catholic university is expanding, Catholic Relief Services has provided funding for 3,000 Christian families living in the city, and the Hungarian government has made a “big change” to parts of the Nineveh Plain.
But he said tension between the Iraqi government and Shia militias remains unresolved, and unrest in Baghdad is having an impact on the Nineveh Plain. “Everyone is cautious,” Archbishop Warda said. “It’s not an easy situation.”
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- chaldean catholics
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Edward Pentin Edward Pentin is the Register’s Senior Contributor and EWTN News Vatican Analyst. He began reporting on the Pope and the Vatican with Vatican Radio before moving on to become the Rome correspondent for EWTN's National Catholic Register. He has also reported on the Holy See and the Catholic Church for a number of other publications including Newsweek, Newsmax, Zenit, The Catholic Herald, and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specializing in the Church and the Middle East. Edward is the author of The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates (Sophia Institute Press, 2020) and The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family (Ignatius Press, 2015). Follow him on Twitter at @edwardpentin.
