Al-Rahi to Hold Expanded Meeting to Address Threat against Christians in Mosul

An expanded meeting aimed at tackling the persecution of Christians in the Iraqi city of Mosul will be held at the summer seat of the Maronite Patriarchate in Diman in August, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi will chair the meeting scheduled for August 7, revealed Bishop Boulos Sayyah to the Central News Agency.

“Lebanon and the Church are concerned with the situation in Mosul,” he stressed.

He also revealed that the patriarchate carried out a series of contacts to hold the meeting, explaining that the delay in staging it was due to some bishops' presence abroad.

Hundreds of Christian families fled their homes in Mosul after the jihadist Islamic State threatened them to convert to Islam, pay a special tax or leave.