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| Iraqi Christians attend an Easter mass at Chaldean Catholic church in Amman April 24, 2011. Thousands of Iraqi Christians fled to neighbouring Jordan following a spate of bombings that targeted churches in Iraqi cities in the past few years. |
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| Chaldean Catholic |
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| A priest gives communion to an Iraqi Christian woman during an Easter mass at Chaldean Catholic church in Amman April 24, 2011. |
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| An Iraqi Christian children break the painted eggs they received during celebrations after an |
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| Iraqi Christian children pick painted eggs during celebrations after an |
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| Iraqi Christian children show the painted eggs they received during celebrations after an Easter service at Chaldean Catholic church in Amman April 24, 2011. |
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| Thousands of Iraqi Christians fled to neighbouring Jordan following a spate of bombings that targeted churches in Iraqi cities in the past few years. |
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| Iraqi Christians attend an Easter mass at Chaldean Catholic church in Amman April 24, 2011. |
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| A Pakistani policeman stands guard outside a Church during an Easter Sunday Mass in Lahore on April 24, 2011. Christian believers around the world mark the Holy Week of Easter in celebration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
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| Pakistani Christians pray during an Easter Sunday Mass at a church in Lahore on April 24, 2011 |
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| Pakistani Christians pray during an Easter Sunday Mass at a church in Lahore on April 24, 2011. |
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| Worshipers attend an Easter Sunday service at the St. Mary Cathedral in Lahore April 24, 2011 |
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| Worshippers pray during an Easter Sunday service at the St. Joseph Cathedral in Rawalpindi April 24, 2011. |
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| Pakistani Christians attends an Easter Sunday Mass at a church in Lahore on April 24, 2011. Christian believers around the world mark the Holy Week |
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| Pakistani Christians pray during an Easter Sunday Mass at a church in Lahore on April 24, 2011 |
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| Iraqi police officer stands guard outside the Virgin Mary church in Baghdad during Easter Sunday mass on April 24, 2011. |
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| Iraqi Christians attend Easter services at St. Joseph's Chaldean church in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, April 24, 2011. |
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| Iraqi Christians congratulate each other after attending Easter services at St. Joseph's Chaldean church in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, April 24, 2011. |
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| Iraqi Christians congratulate each other after attending Easter services at St. Joseph's Chaldean church in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, April 24, 2011 |
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| A wounded man lying on a stretcher is taken to a hospital ward in Baghdad April 24, 2011 in this still image taken from video. A roadside bomb exploded near the rear entrance of a Catholic church in Baghdad after Easter services on Sunday, wounding at least two police officers and two civilians. The bomb blew up outside Sacred Heart church in Baghdad's central Karrada district, shattering windows in nearby buildings and severely damaging a police pick-up truck at the church gate. |
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| A Christian holds a cross as she prays during Easter celebrations at the Sacred Heart Catholic church in Baghdad April 24, 2011. A roadside bomb exploded near an entrance of the Sacred Heart Catholic church in Baghdad on Sunday, wounding two police officers and two civilians, an Interior Ministry source said. |
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| Residents watch a play during Easter at the Sacred Heart Catholic church in Baghdad April 24, 2011 |
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| Residents watch a play during Easter at the Sacred Heart Catholic church in Baghdad April 24, 2011. |
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| Women pray near a statue of the Virgin Mary during Easter at the Sacred Heart Catholic church in Baghdad April 24, 2011 |
By Mshari Al-Zaydi
Source: aawsat.com
The bloody assault on Baghdad's Church of Our Lady of Salvation has opened the door to a bigger question about the fate of Christian citizens in Middle Eastern countries, and the future of their presence there. Furthermore, it has exposed an Arab and Islamic wound, and we must get to the source of this crisis.
It would be a shame to see the land that witnessed the birth and life of Jesus Christ, and the spreading of his teachings, became devoid of followers of the Christian faith.
Mshari Al-Zaydi
For many centuries Christians lived in the Middle East without fearing for their lives, and it is a shame that they feel under threat today and that the Christian exodus from the Middle East has become such a serious issue.
It is distressing for the people of this region to acknowledge the words of Jesuit scholar Father Samir Khalil Samir, who is an Egyptian Catholic based in Beirut who recently presented a paper to the Vatican's Synod for the Middle East. Regarding the current crisis that Christians in the Middle East are facing, Father Samir Khalil Samir said "If this phenomenon continues, Christianity in the Middle East will disappear" according to Reuters and other news agencies. He added "the emigration of Christians from Iraq since 2003 may ultimately lead to their complete disappearance from the country."
