Dr. Rezan Kader will be attending the presentation of His Eminence Cardinal Fernando Filoni's book at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.

Today, Dr. Kader attended the presentation of the book "The Church in Iraq. History, Development, and Mission, from the Beginnings to the Present Day" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana) at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan. The book, written by Cardinal Fernando Filoni, currently Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, combines his interest in history with his experience as nuncio in Baghdad during the 2003 Iraq war and his current responsibility as Prefect of Propaganda Fide.
Present at the meeting were Franco Anelli, Rector of the Catholic University; Senator Pierferdinando Casini, President of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee; Luciano Fontana, Editor-in-Chief of the Corriere della Sera; and Catholic University professors Agostino Giovagnoli and Elisa Giunipero.
The volume, Rector Anelli introduced, represents a historical excursus of the more than 20 centuries of Christian presence in Iraq, thanks to Cardinal Filoni's profound knowledge of the area, having served as the Holy Father's special envoy since 2014.
The two professors from the Catholic University continued by emphasizing that this volume is the first attempt to comprehensively collect a history of the Christian presence in Iraq, so broad and deep-rooted that it reveals the Cardinal's own profound admiration for Iraqi Christians and the role of a church with a strong theological tradition.
Senator Casini spoke of a fundamental testimony that describes the journey of a heroic church facing enormous difficulties, precisely in those countries (Iraq and Syria) that had developed the utmost respect for the value of secularism and thus became targets of ISIS terrorists. The book also highlights, the Senator continued, the West's grave historical responsibility for the current instability in the area, while identifying the Kurds as the only driving force capable of creating the conditions for future stability.
Cardinal Filoni thanked those present for their hospitality and their kind words regarding his book, which aims to provide food for thought on the glorious history of the Church and Christianity in general, and a point of reference for memory and study for the Chaldean Church as well. Iraq's Christians are an important component, not a minority, the Cardinal added, citing his meeting with the President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani, in which the right of all to live in their own land, regardless of religious affiliation, was reaffirmed. Cardinal Filoni also recalled his mission to the Region with Dr. Kader, where he had the opportunity to visit the places of worship there.
The High Representative emphasized that the term minority is not used in the Region because Kurdistan is a peaceful mosaic inspired by principles of ethnic-religious integration where all the represented groups live in peace.