Florida Catholic | Pope Appeals For Peace After Kidnap Of Archbishop

Mosul archbishop ‘could be killed,’ U.S. general says

CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq, second from left, was kidnapped Feb. 29 in Mosul. Archbishop Rahho is pictured at the Vatican Nov. 26 after a papal audience for new cardinals that included Cardinal Emmanuel-Karim Delly of Baghdad, right.
CNS | PAUL HARING

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNS) | A day after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered Iraqi forces to maximize attempts at releasing Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul, Iraq, a top U.S. general said he’s not confident the archbishop will be found alive.

Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling said March 5 Archbishop Rahho “could easily be killed and that would be really unfortunate,” reported the British news agency Reuters.

Hertling, commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, where Mosul is located, added that Iraqi special forces and U.S. forces were searching for the archbishop, who was kidnapped late Feb. 29 after he finished leading the Way of the Cross. He had just left the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul and was in his car with his driver and two bodyguards when the kidnappers attacked. The three people who were traveling with him were killed.

The kidnappers have communicated their demands, which reportedly include a $1 million ransom, according to Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity helping persecuted Christians. The charity added that “mediators acting on behalf of the church have been in contact with the kidnappers, whose identity still remains unknown.”

Hertling told Reuters he did not discount al-Qaida as being responsible for the attack and confirmed his belief that Archbishop Rahho was being held for ransom.

“It could either be a criminal act for money or a terrorist act to raise money because they’re running low on funds,” he said. “I think it’s an act that is sectarian in nature by an organization that’s trying to raise money.”

The Associated Press reported that Iraqi army Brig. Khalid Abdul-Sattar, spokesman for the Nineveh province’s operation command, said March 4 that security forces in Mosul didn’t have any leads on the kidnappers.

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Mosul archbishop ‘could be killed,’ U.S. general says

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