When ISIS extremists rolled across Iraq’s Nineveh Plain in 2014, tens of thousands of Christians fled to Kurdish-controlled areas of Iraq. They still wait in limbo in crowded camps. Their only certainty is that whatever happens to them, a group of Dominican nuns will be at their side. “We will not leave our people. Wherever they go, we will go with them,” said Sister Luma Khudher, a member of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena. The Iraqi congregation was founded in Mosul in the late 19th century, and over the decades the nuns have operated schools and clinics throughout the country. The nuns became the de facto managers of aid for much of the displaced community in Irbil. “The sisters were everywhere. When we asked about the needs of the displaced, no one could answer with any authority except the Dominican sisters,” said Michel Constantin, the regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association.
Sisters’ Acts of Mercy
Show Comments (0)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
Join the 'Jesuitical' team at the studio and headquarters of America Media in New York City for two days of community, prayer and sharing stories of faith.
There are some signs of progress in addressing the questions raised in “Laudato Si’.” There are also intimations of backpedaling, particularly by the Trump administration, regarding the industrialized world’s malign effects on creation.
In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen and Gerry explore the pope’s message to the Vatican workforce and recap Pope Leo’s formal installation at the Basilica of St. John Lateran on Sunday, May 25.
Joining Zac and Ashley on this week’s episode of “Jesuitical” is Jamie Baxter, Founder & CEO of Exodus 90, a program that helps men to strengthen their faith through prayer, asceticism and fraternity.