Mosul. A Mass for Peace and Reconciliation

Mosul. On 28th February, after years of Jihadist occupation and and more than a year since its liberation, the Syriac Catholic church of Saint Thomas, still full of rubble, celebrated a Mass for Peace, for a congregation made up of Muslims and people of other non-Christian minority faiths, a sign of the longed-for reconciliation of the various groups on the local population.

The liturgy was celebrated by the Syriac Catholic Archbishop Boutros Moshi in the church in the historical clock tower district. The church was damaged but not completely destroyed during the battles that raged in Mosul, after being ransacked by Jihadists during the occupation.

The mass was also attended by the Chaldean Archbishop Najib Mikhail Moussa OP, as well as many nuns, priests and representatives of Muslim, Yazidi, Kurdish and Turkmen civil society and groups. This liturgy was an important step for the Italian association ‘Un Ponte Per…(UPP)’, which is supporting a project designed to promote reconciliation between different parts of the population to overcome the wounds, resentment and mistrust left by the conflict.

The mass was also attended by UPP’s Conflict Prevention Team – 7 young local peace builders who who are working on ‘alternatives to violence’ within the community, including inter-faith dialogue, as part of the project “Bridging Communities in the Ninewa Governorate”.

The church was partially rebuilt thanks to the hard work of young Christian and Muslim volunteers. After Mass was celebrated, activist Mustafa Hisham described the project as a way to encourage and promote the return to Mosul and the Ninive Plain of tens of thousands of Christians who fled their homes during the Jihadist invasion.

Tratto da Agenzia Fides del 1/3/2019