Dominicans in Iraq – ‘We have family in Iraq’

Bishop Richard E. Pates, USCCB chairman of the Committee of International Justice and Peace, has asked the U.S. bishops to invite the people of their dioceses to pray for peace in Iraq on Sunday, Aug. 17. This prayer was written by the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Iraq, His Beatitude Louis Rafael Sako. Please join the US Bishops in prayer for Iraqi Christians. Click image for larger view
Bishop Richard E. Pates, USCCB chairman of the Committee of International Justice and Peace, has asked the U.S. bishops to invite the people of their dioceses to pray for peace in Iraq on Sunday, Aug. 17. This prayer was written by the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Iraq, His Beatitude Louis Rafael Sako. Please join the US Bishops in prayer for Iraqi Christians. Click image for larger view

In the context of the current violence and displacement of Christians in Iraq, Sister Rene Weeks, OP (Peace) reflects on her visit to Iraq in the spring of 2001. She writes: “Before I visited Iraq, I didn’t know there were Dominicans there, not just now, but over the centuries… The profound connection we experienced with the Dominicans there changed me. I remember the names of brothers and sisters whom we met and wonder what has happened to them and to their families, where they are today, if they are safe and still able to carry on their ministries.” Read more | Read Aug. 8 letter from Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena in Iraq | Read letter from Dominican brother in Iraq