Early Mass for Iraqi Christians

The Christmas Eve Mass for Baghdad’s small and beleaguered Christian community started before dusk today instead of at the traditional midnight, a reflection of continued security concerns in the Iraqi capital.

About 50 people attended the service in the Mar Yusif Chaldean Catholic Church, which started in the late afternoon – like the previous five Christmas Eves since the US-led invasion – even though the overall number of attacks in the city has plummeted this year.

The worshippers quietly received communion and many lit candles at a nativity scene at the front of the church.

Christians have often been the target of attacks by Islamic extremists in Iraq, forcing tens of thousands to flee. Many of those who stayed were isolated in neighbourhoods protected by barricades and checkpoints.

A coordinated bombing campaign in 2004 targeted churches in the Iraqi capital, and anti-Christian violence also flared in September 2007 after Pope Benedict XVI made comments perceived to be against Islam.

Fewer than 3% of Iraq’s 26 million people are Christians – the majority of them are Chaldean-Assyrians and Armenians, with a small number of Roman Catholics. The exact number of Christians left in Iraq is unclear, but they are thought to number several hundred thousand.

In comments on Al-Sharqiya TV, Chaldean Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly called on all Iraqis “to live together in a quiet, loving, brotherly and equal life” and “not to marginalise the Christians”.