Cardinal Sandri: No religion can kill in the name of God
(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Leonardo Sandri on Sunday said "no religion can accept to kill God's children in the Name of the same God." He was speaking during a homily at the Chaldean Cathedral of St. Peter in San Diego, California.Cardinal Sandri, the Prefect for the Congregation for the Eastern Churches, is this month visiting Eastern-Rite Catholic communities in California.
Most of the members of the Chaldean Church come from Iraq, and Cardinal Sandri spoke about the current persecution of Christians in the country, especially at the hands of the Islamist ISIS group which has driven the once-large Catholic community out of the city of Mosul.
"I recall with you the psalm: by the rivers of Babylon we sat in tears (137,1) …without songs of joy.. And today, two thousands years later, we wonder in pain: will there be no more joyful songs of the Christian liturgy in Mosul?" asked Cardinal Sandri. "Should our harps, hung on the trees of that beautiful land, wait too long before they resound again?"
The Cardinal insisted Christians have a vital role to play in the Middle East.
"But also the future of Mankind is foreseen as a nuptial feast, at which all human beings must take part," he said. "As we gaze at such a beautiful future of humanity, we wonder whether there will be a place for Christians of Iraq, Syria and Palestine to celebrate their wedding feasts. Accordingly, there will be no future, no wedding, and no feast in the Middle East without the presence and the contribution of Christians."
