11/3/10
Christian leaders and organizations in the U.S. and around the world have universally denounced the attack on the Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church in Baghdad that killed 58 people this past Sunday. Pope Benedict XVI called the attack “ferocious” and “absurd,” and the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches “expressed his deep sympathy and solidarity with those who lost loved ones.” A report from The Washington Post said explosions were first heard outside the building soon after the beginning of Mass that morning, when a priest began to move people into a fortified room for their protection. Soon after, the attackers began executing the priests and threw a grenade into the safe room where the parishoners were huddled together. Only after a U.S. commando team stormed the church did the violence cease, but not until seven of the soldiers gave their lives. An al-Qaeda group has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in response to the abduction of two Muslim women by Catholic Church leaders in Egypt. According to The Christian Post, this attack was the deadliest on an Iraqi church in the last few years and has struck fear into the hearts of Christians in the region.
