Rumors about destruction of churches in Mosul have been denied.
Pope Francis phoned the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Louis Raphael I Sako to expressed his closeness to the Iraqi people, beginning with the Mosul Christians expelled from the city by the self-proclaimed "Islamic Caliphate."
The phone call took place on Friday morning, July 25. The Bishop of Rome, as reported by official sources of the Chaldean Patriarchate, thanked Patriarch Sako for guiding the Christian people in this period, and expressed his affection for all Christians in Iraq, urging them to keep their faith alive.
Meanwhile, authoritative sources of the Chaldean Church deny rumors that the militia of the Islamic Caliphate, after having destroyed the Mosque of Jonah in Mosul, have also destroyed the Chaldean church dedicated to the Holy Spirit.
"In the difficult times that we are living," Chaldean Bishop of Mosul Amel Shamon Nona told Fides, "a further cause for concern and bitterness is represented by alarmism caused by unscrupulous people who spread false news that also touches the fate of Christians. Statements and interviews in recent days that I have never released have also been attributed to me. It is a disturbing phenomenon"
