We have all heard "baptism by fire". How about "ordination by fire". Earlier this year, Archbishop Paulos Rahho of Mosul (Iraq) was kidnapped during an attack that killed several of his assistants. The archbishop's body was found a few weeks later. The See of Mosul had been vacant until the election of Archbishop Emil Nono was confirmed on November 13 (a Friday, the 13th). According to a ZENIT report, a bomb destroyed the Catholic Church of St. Ephrem and an adjoining motherhouse of Domican sisters on Thursday. There are no reports (yet) about deaths or injuries.
According to the report, 40 Christians have been killed in Mosul in the past year and 12,000 Christians have fled - as Vatican diplomats predicted when trying to urge the Bush administration to not attack Iraq.
Poor Archbishop Nono. He is a young man (42 years old) facing significant challenges. Let's hope he will live to be an old man.
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