According to data collected in October by the Chaldean Diocese of Erbil, there are more than 10,000 Christian families who have found refuge in the suburbs of Erbil and other parts of Iraqi Kurdistan after fleeing Mosul and the cities of the Nineveh Plain before the advance of Islamic State militants. The local church wishes to use the refugee census to create a database to monitor and update the distribution of family units in the different areas and calibrate the distribution of aid. According to the data gathered so far (online at ankawa.com), more than 6,300 of the 10,353 households surveyed come from the area of Qaraqosh, while 1,154 families previously lived in Mosul. The majority of the displaced—7,850 families—have found refuge in Ankawa, a predominantly Christian suburb of Erbil.
Refugee Census in Erbil
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Inspired by his friend and mentor Henri Nouwen, Metropolitan Borys Gudziak, leader of Ukrainian Catholics in the U.S., invites listeners in his Christmas Eve homily to approach the manger with renewed awe and openness.
A Homily for the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, by Father Terrance Klein