Book review and interview: ‘Peace in Iraq’ is best remaining hope for country’s Christians
In his new book, 'The Disappearing People: The Tragic Fate of Christians in the Middle East', author Stephen Rasche chronicles the dramatic decline of Christians in the Middle East, many of whom feel abandoned by their counterparts in the Western world, and the policy decisions that have led to their current predicament.
For 25 years, Stephen Rasche served as an international lawyer – traveling the world for commercial work. But in 2015, at the request of Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda, he made the decision to relocate to Erbil, Iraq – where now serves as Vice Chancellor at the Catholic University in Erbil and Director of the Institute for Ancient and Threatened Christianity – in an effort to wake up his fellow Christians to pay attention to the plight of region’s Christians who were on the verge of extinction.
Released to coincide with the Lenten season, in his interview with Crux, Rasche describes how 2,000 years of history risks being lost if Christians are completely driven out of Iraq. Further, he weighs in on the possibility of a papal visit to the country, the ongoing tensions between neighboring Iran and the U.S. and the need for peace, and how Christians in the region view the Trump administration.
Please read the interview and the whole article here.
Steve Rasche speaks at a conference on Christian persecution in Hungary. (Edward Pentin photo )
