Archbishop of Mossul Seeks Western Help Against Terrorists

Catholic Archbishop: Pure expressions of sympathy do not convince him. In addition, the West is itself threatened. "Today, they are with us. Tomorrow they will be with you."

Frankfurt (kath.net/KNA) The Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Yohanna Petros Mouche has strongly criticized the attitude of the West towards the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist militia. "People in the West fight for the preservation of endangered species. How can they stand idly by when a whole nation is sold," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Wednesday). He appealed to Western countries to liberate the territories occupied by the IS.

Pure expressions of sympathy do not convince him, says Mouche. In addition, the West is itself threatened. "Today, they are with us. Tomorrow they will be with you," warned the archbishop. For the Syrian Catholic Christian he would like, "our own area in which we are secure."

The IS has controlled Mosul since June of last year. The second largest city of Iraq is regarded as strategically and economically significant, partly because of its oil refineries. At first no one had realized how dangerous the terrorists would be for the Christians of the region, Mouche said.

He also criticized the Iraqi government. "The weakness of the Iraqi central government laid the way for weak souls to threaten minorities in diverse ways."

Unstable conditions had only made the IS ​​possible. He does not even trust the extremists to run a state, declared Mouche. "They have tried to erase the cultural heritage of humanity in the Middle East. These people can establish no state in the democratic sense. Their policy is just one of destruction. " (C) 2015 Catholic News Agency KNA GmbH. All rights reserved. Link to Kath.net... Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com AMDG