THE P
RTAL
Aid to the Church in Need
March 2018 Page 21
The Church ’ s work in Iraq : “ A story of life ”
Murcadha O Flaherty reports
young mother in Iraq , her name withheld to protect her security , went to the Church for help
A to protect her unborn child ’ s right to life – her son was conceived when she was gang-raped by Daesh ( ISIS ) extremists and then her tribe abandoned her because of the pregnancy .
As a teenage girl she was imprisoned and abused by Daesh militants . She suffered a similar ordeal to thousands of other women forced into sexual slavery in Iraq because she was from an ethnic and religious minority . Such women have endured the worst suffering during this genocide . After nearly three years of occupation , the extremists in Iraq were eventually forced to retreat last year .
Having survived such trauma , the young woman discovered she was pregnant . The elders of her tribe had taken the decision to kill the child as soon as he was born . The report received by Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need stated that they had decided that it was impossible to let the unborn child live as it was regarded as evil , but the young woman did not want the child she was carrying within her womb to be killed . Despite having endured sexual violence by militants and then her tribe refusing to support her pregnancy , she still cherished life .
Someone suggested that she get in touch with the local Church . She went to the religious Sisters and in seeking their help she saved the child . The woman gave birth to the baby boy by Caesarian section at a private hospital . For a month , the little boy remained at the Sisters ’ orphanage and his mother was also kept in safety to protect her from violence as a result of her decision to have the baby .
The Church source who passed on the story to Aid to the Church in Need – and held the newborn
in their arms – said : “ I want you to hear some good news about what happened in the Church here . [ This is ] something that could only have happened thanks to the presence of the Church . It is a story of life and about why our presence is so important here .”
The baby is alive in Iraq thanks to his teenage mother valuing his life and the Church giving her the support she needed . The child was subsequently adopted by a Christian family in Iraq .
Elsewhere in the world , ACN is supporting the Church ’ s pro-life projects in countries like Lithuania , India , Philippines and Russia . Speaking of Russian ecumenical projects protecting the right to family and life after his visit last year , Mr Kyrke-Smith said : “ ACN is inspired by our Saviour ’ s own words ‘ as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren , you did it to me ’ [ Matt 25:40 ]”.
Aid to the Church in Need - www . acnuk . org contact : acn @ acnuk . org or call 020 8642 8668