The statue is one of the many relics of hatred left behind by the jihadists in Iraq.
Newsdesk (June 10, 2021 09:50, Gaudium Press) The Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need has brought Italy an image of Our Lady that the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq desecrated. The sculpture comes from Batnaya, located in the Nineveh Plain, and will visit Italian parishes from September 1 until the beginning of Advent this year. Next, on June 13, it will go to Giussano, visiting the Pastoral Community of San Paolo, and then make the pilgrimage through Italian parishes.
At each stage of her pilgrimage, Iraqi priests, in person or online, will offer their testimonies about the suffering of the Iraqi Church.
“The initiative will consolidate the bond between the Italian and Iraqi Catholic communities, fix this horrible historical page in our memory so that we do not forget its many lessons. It will represent a message of forgiveness and reconciliation,” noted Alessandro Monteduro, director of Aid to the Church in Need in Italy.
“Marian images horribly mutilated, icons of Christ destroyed, sacred images employed for shooting practices, tombs desecrated, churches, shrines, monasteries, houses and stores set on fire, plus, of course, Christian brothers and sisters killed or wounded: this is the wake of death and hatred left by the jihadists on the plain of Nineveh, Iraq. The peaceful local Christian community was brutally driven out,” reminds the Italian director of ACN.
A desolate land that rises again
Thanks to the help of Christian communities abroad and the assistance of local Churches under the coordination of the Reconstruction Committee of Nineveh, much has been rebuilt after the fanatical passage of the Jihadist terror.
The Aid to the Church in Need Foundation and its benefactors have contributed significantly to the reconstruction. According to recent data, 9,176 families have returned to their homes or about 45% of the displaced. In addition, approximately 57% of the houses have been rebuilt or renovated.
With information from Zenit
Photo Credit : ACS Italy
.Read MoreMundo, Imagem de Nossa Senhora profanada pelo ‘Estado Islâmico’, Imagens de Nossa Senhora vandalizada, Perseguição religiosa IraqueGaudium Press
