Pope and Patriarch call for end to Violence in Iraq

"His beautiful testimony of faith to Christ, the Church and his people that he did not want to abandon despite numerous threats, pushes me to raise a strong and sorrowful cry: enough with the massacres, enough with the violence, enough with hatred in Iraq!"

Mousul, IRAQ (Chaldean.org) - Pope Benedict made an emotional appeal for an end to violence and massacres in Iraq, as he recalled during Palm Sunday services the death of a kidnapped Chaldean Catholic archbishop.

"His beautiful testimony of faith to Christ, the Church and his people that he did not want to abandon despite numerous threats, pushes me to raise a strong and sorrowful cry: enough with the massacres, enough with the violence, enough with hatred in Iraq!" he said.

Speaking to thousands of pilgrims clutching palm fronds and olive branches -- symbols of peace -- in St. Peter's Square, the Pope called on Iraqis to "raise their heads" and rebuild their nation with reconciliation, forgiveness and justice.

Rahho, 65, was kidnapped during a shootout in which three of his companions were killed, as he returned home after mass in Mosul on February 29. The killers later telephoned church authorities on Thursday to announce where the archbishop's body could be found. The body of the Bishop was recovered from a shallow grave within a garbage dump area further inflaming passions

Along with the Pope the Chaldean Patriarch urged Iraq to resolve peace in their hearts. Hundreds gathered at the church in the village of Kramleis, just north of Mosul, to memorialize the highest-ranking Christian cleric to be targeted by Islamic fanatics since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq five years ago.