To witness the beginning of the war after working for peace left Filoni feeling powerless, he said. It was “really terrible,” he said, “just to accept — fatally — the war.”
“We tried to live this moment witnessing the faith and our solidarity with the people,” Filoni told Vatican News.
During the eight-year Iraq War, 4,600 U.S. soldiers and an estimated 270,000 Iraqis, most of whom were civilians, were killed, Vatican News reported.
The former papal nuncio, who now serves as grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, said that during Saddam Hussein’s regime Christians were free to practice their faith in the majority-Muslim country.
“The Church was respected” under Hussein, he said. At the time the bishops asked themselves: “What kind of attitude would we assume in case Saddam Hussein’s regime came to an end?” he told Vatican News.
As feared, the overthrow of Hussein’s government made things more difficult for Christians. With power shifted from Sunni Muslims to Shiite Muslims, extremist anti-Christian groups gained power.
Credit: Source link