Pope Benedict XVI has formally welcomed the election of Archbishop Louis Sako of Kirkuk to be the new patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church.

The European Parliament has officially welcomed a delegation of Christian leaders from Iraq and Lebanon at its last plenary session of the year.

Human rights groups have called on the Iraqi government to do more to protect the country’s Christian minority from an expected increase in violent attacks.

In a pastoral sermon remembering Christians killed recently in Baghdad, William Kenney also recalls the many Muslims who have fled from terror too, and challenges the UK government claim that it is safe for people to be repatriated to Iraq.