BAGHDAD — The walls were still splattered with blood and pieces of flesh as Iraqi Christians celebrated Mass on Sunday in the church that just a week before had been the scene of a horrific bloodbath in which dozens died.
Parishioners holding candles and wearing black gathered in Baghdad’s Our Lady of Salvation church, which had been stripped bare of pews and still bore bullet holes along its walls, while overhead the chandeliers and ceilings were stained with blood.
Islamic militants took about 120 parishioners hostage Oct. 31 in the worst attack against the country’s Christian minority since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion unleashed a torrent of violence across the country. By the end of the siege, 58 people were dead.
Father Mukhlis, who led the shell-shocked congregation in prayer Sunday, began the Mass by saying they would pray for the victims of the assault and for the attackers alike.
“We will perform a strange kind of prayer because Christ tells us: ‘Love your enemies,’ ” Mukhlis said. “We will pray for those who assaulted our church and shed the blood of our martyrs.”
At the Mass, the congregants read verses from the Bible and laid out candles in the shape of a cross on the floor, along with the names of those who died. At the front of the church were photos of the two priests killed in the attack.
Mukhlis called the two priests martyrs. At least one of the them was shot execution- style on the church floor.
“Father Thair was standing right here and told the attackers: ‘Kill me, not the families and children,’ ” Mukhlis said, pointing at the altar.
Even for a nation used to daily violence after years of war, the church killings at the hands of militants were shocking. Grieving and afraid, some Iraqi Christians were saying they might now join what Catholic officials estimate is more than 1 million of their brethren who have fled the country since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime.
Iraq’s top Catholic prelate, Chaldean Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, has encouraged the country’s remaining 1.5 million Christians to stay in the country. He called on the authorities for more protection and police.
