By Martha Mendoza, Maya Alleruzzo and Bram Janssen, Associated Press.
U.S. Soldiers tour Saint Elijah’s Monastery at Forward Operating Base Marez in Mosul, Iraq, Jan. 23, 2009. Saint Elijah’s, a complex of buildings dating back to the 6th century, is the oldest Christian monastery in Iraq. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. JoAnn S. Makinano/Released)
IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — The Obama Administration and the Vatican condemned the Islamic State group Wednesday for razing Iraq’s oldest Christian monastery, a 1,400-year-old structure that survived assaults by nature and man for centuries before it was deliberately destroyed by extremists.
At the United Nations, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova said reducing St. Elijah’s monastery in Mosul to a field of rubble was malicious and misguided. The Associated Press confirmed the news with exclusive satellite images published early Wednesday.
“Despite their relentless crimes, extremists will never be able to erase history,” said Bokova, who called the demolition a war crime. “It also reminds us how terrified by history the extremists are, because understanding the past undermines the pretexts they use to justify these crimes and exposes them as expressions of pure hatred and ignorance.”
St. Elijah’s monastery on the outskirts of Mosul was a place of worship recently for U.S. troops, who worked to restore it. In earlier centuries, generations of monks tucked candles in the niches and prayed in the cool chapel. The Greek letters chi and rho, representing the first two letters of Christ’s name, were carved near the entrance.
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“Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’” (Jn. 4.21-24)
Oh no! A condemnatory statement from the Obama Administration, the Vatican and the United Nations!
Those will certainly make those naughty boys stop!!
Just think how awful the world would be if we didn’t have such smart and courageous leaders as we currently have!