Requiescat in Pace

The Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, His Excellency Paulos Faraj Rahho, has been murdered.

From CNN, via The Cafeteria is Closed:

Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paul Faraj Rahho's body was found Thursday near the town of Mosul, where he and three companions were ambushed by gunmen on February 29.

The archbishop's driver and two security guards were killed during the attack. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki had ordered security services to make it a priority to find and free the archbishop.

Nineveh Deputy Gov. Khasro Goran, in Mosul, told CNN that the kidnappers had been in touch with the church and the relatives and wanted to be a paid a ransom for the archbishop's release. The contacts ended a few days ago.

The apparent kidnappers had contacted relatives on Thursday and told them the body was in the eastern part of town. Relatives and authorities went to the location and found the body, which had gunshot wounds.



For more coverage, see American Papist, who has a roundup.

Let us remember Archbishop Rahho in our prayers, and pray for the protection of our Christian brethren in Iraq, particularly the Cardinal Patriarch.