Pope’s memorial mass for Iraqi Archbishop who died in captivity

(March 17, 2008) “A man of peace and dialogue.” This is how Pope Benedict XVI remembered on Monday late Catholic Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Raho of Mosul, who died in captivity in northern Iraq after being kidnapped on Feb 29. The Pope celebrated a memorial mass for the late archbishop in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, which was attended by a delegation of Chaldean Catholics. The Holy Father hoped Archbishop Rahho will be ''an example to all Iraqis of good will, Muslims as well as Christians, in building a peaceful coexistence, based on brotherhood and reciprocal respect.” The body of the 65-year old prelate found last Thursday, dumped in a shallow grave outside Mosul. ''We have mourned his death and the inhuman way he had to conclude his earthly life,” the Pope said recalling his unjust captivity, the agony, death and the unworthy burial given him. But today, in this Eucharistic celebration for his consecrated soul, the Pope said, we wish to thank God for all the good that he has worked in and through Archbishop Rahho. Just as the beloved prelate spent himself without reserve in the service of his people, the Pope hoped his Christians will persevere in building a peaceful society based on solidarity on the path of progress and peace.
Chaldean Christians practice an ancient Eastern rite and are faithful to the Pope of Rome. Most of its members are in Iraq and Syria and they form the biggest Christian community in Iraq. Christians make up about 3 percent of Iraq's 27 million, mostly Muslim, population and have come under attack on a number of occasions since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.