Patriarch al-Raii calls on Iraqi Christians to hold onto their land

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Raii left Beirut on Friday morning for a one-day pastoral visit to Erbil to inquire about the situation of Iraqi Christians who fled the offensive of ISIS.

Patriarch Raphael Louis Sako, the interior minister of Kurdistan - Iraq, Karim Sanjari and others welcomed him at the airport along with the Lebanese-Italian delegation accompanying al-Raii, including the Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Angelo Scola.

A joint meeting was held, during which Patriarch Sako thanked the cardinals, Scola and al-Raii, for their visit, noting that "the complicated situation in the region in the shade of dark world politics conceals the horizons of solutions."

He stressed the need "to elect a president in Lebanon," assuring that "the vacuum affects Christians in Iraq and the Middle East."

Patriarch al-Raii then thanked Kurdistan "for hosting the Christians," saying that "they must remain anchored in Iraq, where they lived with Muslims. We will never give up this land."

"This is certainly insufficient. Christians need essential factors for survival. We must arm ourselves and the international community must show solidarity to support them. Our demand is their return to their home with dignity. We counted on the international coalition to put an end to terrorist organizations. However, and unfortunately, these have not stopped their attacks. Where does their strength come from? Why does the world address them as if they embodied a State and not a terrorist group?" he criticized.

"We aim to meet the ecclesiastical authorities and the displaced in Kurdistan to express our total solidarity with them."

"We only understand the language of justice and rights," he said, denouncing "the silence of the international community about the attacks."