A group of Christians and Muslims showed their opposition to a city project that will demolish a Chaldean Catholic church in Baghdad, the capital of Iraq.

Fides news agency reported that as part of an urban development programme, the local authorities want to demolish the Chaldean Catholic Church of Divine Wisdom in Baghdad.

In response to the news, a group of Muslims and Christians organised a demonstration protesting against the demolition of the church. The demonstrators accused the government of unfairly supporting this commercially driven urban project given that Christianity is an officially accepted religion in the country. If the project goes ahead, the local authorities, backed by the government, will be going against a recognised minority.

The Wisdom of God Church was constructed in 1929, a project of the British architect, James Mollison Wilson, and is situated between two Muslim communities, who are opposed to the destruction of the building.

Iraq is a Muslim country, where Christians are a minority. They live in constant fear from the terrorists of ISIS.

In November of 2018, the Babylonian Patriarchate of the Chaldeans and Archbishop of Baghdad, Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako promised in Rome that the episcopate would work to improve the situation of Iraqi Christians and conserve the Christian patrimony of the country. He highlighted that Iraqi Christians have to be strong and capable of engaging with the Eastern Orthodox Church to better face this challenging situation.

The demonstration against the closure of the church bore evidence of the faith and the determination of the local Christian minority, and the loyalty of their Muslim neighbours.

Source: Aciprensa