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Last Updated: 11 March 2015

CWN - Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill said that the conflict in Ukraine “does not let me sleep,” and said that Europe is “choking” because of its secularization, in a lengthy interview with Tass.

The AsiaNews service, reporting on the Patriarch’s interview, suggested that it is “part of the broader effort to reaffirm the Church's presence in the secular life of the nation.” The Russian Orthodox Church leadership has been outspoken in defending traditional Christian moral principles, and Patriarch Kirill sounded that theme clearly, warning against “transforming freedom it to something that is arbitrary appears when "there are no criteria of truth."

Regarding Ukraine, the Russian Patriarch underlined that complaint of the Moscow patriarchate that Ukrainian Catholics and Orthodox who have split from Moscow are engaged in the “violent seizure” of parishes from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church allied with the Russian patriarchate. He said that the Russian Orthodox Church would do its utmost to maintain its standing, and defend its “canonical territory” in Ukraine.

Patriarch Kirill declined to comment on the drive by Pope Francis to encourage a frugal way of life at the Vatican, apart from saying that he has “sincere respect” for the Pontiff. He observed, however, that the Orthodox Church is generally seen as more conservative than Catholicism. “It is nice to hear accusations against the Church for maintaining fidelity to its fundamental principles,” he said.

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Ukraine, Pope Francis, Charlie Hebdo: Patriarch Kirill releases his first wide-ranging interview with secular media

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Last Updated: 11 March 2015

CWN - Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako has issued a statement voicing his “deep concern” about the plight of civilians caught up in fighting between the Islamic State and the Iraqi army.

The Islamic State “is burning everything: human beings, stones and civilizations,” the Iraqi prelate reports. At the same time, the advance of the Iraqi army is forcing thousands of families to leave their homes, swelling the ranks of displaced people in the region. Relief agencies have not yet been able to organize help for the latest round of refugees, he said.

The Patriarch called upon the Iraqi government, and the international community, “to act as soon as possible to ensure the protection of innocent civilians and to offer them the necessary assistance in lodging, food and medications.”

The Christian population of Iraq, particularly in the region near Mosul and the Nineveh plains, has already experienced “a human catastrophe that cannot suffer any silence,” the Patriarch said. He pleaded for help with a situation that, he said, “threatens to deteriorate from bad to worse.”

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Last Updated: 11 March 2015

CWN - The Islamic State has blown up a 10th-century Chaldean Catholic church in Mosul, Turkey’s state-run press agency reported.

Islamic State militants also desecrated the parish’s graveyard, according to an Iraqi government official.

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Last Updated: 10 March 2015

CWN - Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, the prefect of the Congergation for the Eastern Churches, has written to all the world’s bishops, encouraging support for the annual Good Friday collection, which is taken up for the Church in the Holy Land.

“If the Christians of the Holy Land are encouraged to resist, to the degree possible, the understandable temptation to flee, the faithful throughout the world are asked to take their plight to heart,” Cardinal Sandri wrote. (The letter was also signed by Archbishop Cyril Vasil, the secretary of the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.)

“Presently, there are millions of refugees fleeing Syria and Iraq, where the roar of arms does not cease and the way of dialogue and concord seems to be completely lost,” the letter notes. The annual collection, the Vatican officials say, is an opportunity for all the faithful to become “pilgrims in faith.”

The Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land has provided an accounting of the funds that were received the Good Friday collection last year. The greatest expenditure of emergency funding was for aid to refugees in Syria and Iraq. But the collection also furnished support for craftsmen in Jordan, medical care in Bethlehem, and apartments in Jerusalem for young couples who want to remain in the Holy Land.

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Last Updated: 10 March 2015

CWN - The Assyrian International News Agency has reported that the Islamic State has launched new attacks against predominantly Christian villages in Al-Hasakah Governorate, which is located in northeastern Syria.

Following bombing of ISIS positions by the Assad regime, Syrian Christians were able to regain control of three of the villages, according to the report.

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Last Updated: 10 March 2015

CWN - The Migration and Refugee Services office of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has issued a report on the Syrian refugee crisis.

Nearly four million refugees have fled Syria, and neighboring countries are reaching a saturation point in which they can no longer accept refugees.

“Without more international support, we will find Syrians fleeing extremists being turned away and forced back to danger,” said Anastasia Brown, the office’s interim executive director. “The global community, led by Europe and the United States, needs to increase its support in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis.”