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Syriac Catholic patriarch 'horrified' after seeing Iraqi 'ghost towns'
A damaged statue of Mary is seen in a church in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Nov. 25. (CNS photo/Goran Tomasevic, Reuters)
By Doreen Abi Raad Catholic News Service
12.2.2016 2:20 PM ET
BEIRUT (CNS) -- The Syriac Catholic patriarch said he was horrified to see widespread devastation and what he called "ghost towns" during a recent visit to northern Iraq.
Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan wrote in an email to Catholic News Service that there was little left in some of the communities that he toured Nov. 27-29 and that "the emptiness of the streets except for military people ... the devastation and burned-out houses and churches" was shocking.
About 100,000 Christians -- among them more than 60,000 Syriac Catholics -- were expelled from the Ninevah Plain by the Islamic State group in the summer of 2014 as the militants campaigned to expand their reach into Iraq.
Patriarch Younan also called for understanding from the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump about the plight and ordeal of all minorities, including Christians affected by violence in the region.
http://www.catholicnews.com/services/englishnews/2016/syriac-catholic-patriarch-horrified-after-seeing-iraqi-ghost-towns.cfm