Midnight Christmas Mass
has been cancelled in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk as a consequence of the
never-ending assassinations of Christians and the attack against Our
Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral on 31 October, which killed 57 people.
For security reasons, churches will not be decorated.
Masses will be
sombre and held during the day.
A sense of sadness and mourning prevails among
Christians.
There is much concern for the future of young people. For
the past two months, they have been unable to go to university.
The same
is true for many families that fled north who now must plan a future
without any concrete bases.
No one expects anything from the government as far as
protecting Christians. Political leaders are too caught up in setting up
a new administration.
Security is slightly better in Kirkuk than in the
capital, but here too abductions and threats occur.
For this reason, we
have decided for the first time since the war began not to celebrate
Midnight Mass.
We shall simply not have any feast, period. Santa Claus
will not be coming for the children; there will be no official ceremony
with the authorities proffering their best wishes.
For the past six weeks, we have not celebrated Mass
because of a lack of security, except late in the morning and Saturday
afternoons.
For now, we have also stopped teaching the catechism.
We do not have the right to put people’s lives in
danger.
All our parish churches have security guards, but when
worshippers step outside the church and into the street, they become an
easy target.
Yet, despite everything, we shall pray for peace this
Christmas and help the poor families of Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah. So far,
106 families have arrived from Baghdad and Mosul.
In my homily, I am going to focus on such problems, on
the clashes and on people’s fears but also on the fact that Christmas
brings a message of hope.
Of course, heaven and earth are two different
realities.
The Massacre of the Innocents followed Christmas.
Thus, for
us in Iraq, Christmas is a time of hope and joy as well as pain and
martyrdom.
Peace is a goal that people of good will should make
happen.
If we Christians want to be Christian and welcome Christmas and
its message, we must be peacemakers, and build harmony among our Iraqi
brothers and sisters.
SIC: AN/INT'L