Westminster Cathedral
Friday, 26 November 2010, 7pm
A special Mass has been held at Westminster Cathedral for all those who have died or were injured in recent weeks in Iraq, especially in the bombing of Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad on 31 October 2010.
The Mass, which was attended by the Iraqi Chargé d’Affaires to the UK, senior Iraqi Church leaders and Orthodox Christian Bishops, as well as members of the Iraqi community and aid agencies including Aid to the Church In Need, was an occasion to pray for peace, justice and hope for all the people of Iraq. During the Mass the Gospel was sung in Aramaic.
The Most Revd Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster celebrated the Mass. Bishop William Kenney, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham preached saying:
“Our emotions are of deep sorrow and possibly also of anger: anger that innocent people are killed in this way, that our friends, our relations are sacrificed for at best short term political gain, and at worst for no real reason at all, other than that they are followers of Jesus Christ.”
He continued: “We know the situation of our brothers and sisters still in Iraq who wake at night frightened by the knock at the door, the unusual sound, the gunshot or the explosion, the knowledge that few if any will defend them, the constant fear and tension of not knowing what will happen next. We who are here in England are angry when our Government said on Tuesday that it was safe for people to be repatriated to Iraq. You know in a way few others do how untrue that is.”
He stressed that Christians who have died in Iraq have died for their faith saying:
“Where is our comfort? How are we blessed? The people, killed in Baghdad and in other places because they are Christian and died for their faith, are in the great line of martyrs. That is something which the Church in England and Wales understands. The Church in these countries is built on the witness of those put to death because they would not renounce their faith. The Catholic Christians of this country know something about the sorrow, the pride, the despair and the joy of martyrdom for the Faith.”
“Today it is not only our relations and friends whom we have come to mourn. We have also come to honour them as people who have been killed because of their faith. We must express our sorrow that this has happened, for Christ tells us that if we do not bear witness to the truth then the stones themselves will shout out the message. But that message is the message of the Gospel.”
You can download the full text of Bishop Kenney’s homily below.
Bishop Kenney – Iraq Requiem Mass
You can also listen to the homily by visiting the Diocese of Westminster‘s website.
A statement was read at the Mass on behalf of the Council of Christian Church-leaders of Iraq (CCCL) which said:
“On this holy occasion the pastors of the Christian Churches of Iraq call upon the civilised world and the peoples of good will to pray for the entire population of Iraq and for its Christian Communities who have witnessed and suffered in the cause of their faith for so long, the massacre at the Syrian Catholic Church of Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad on 31 October 2010 not being the last.”
Reflection and Prayer for Iraq
Images on Flickr
