"Qaraqosh and the other cities of the Nineveh Plain have been for a long time places of peace and coexistence. We Christians are unarmed, and as Christians we have not fueled any conflict or had any problem with the Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds and other realities that form the Iraqi country. We just want to live in peace, work with everyone and respect everyone."

"Before the tragedy being experienced by our people, I appeal to the consciences of political leaders around the world, to international organizations and to all men of good will: it is necessary to intervene immediately to put a stop to the deterioration of the situation, working not only at a humanitarian level, but also politically and diplomatically. Every hour, every day lost, is likely to make all unrecoverable. Inaction becomes complicity with crime and abuse of power. The world cannot turn a blind eye to the tragedy of people who have fled from their homes in a few hours, taking with them only the clothes they are wearing."

"The Church must be the presence of Christ in the country. If we Christians flee when the situation is difficult, then we don’t give that necessary witness. And if the generations are uprooted then they will never return."

"The goal of the cultural institutions and Catholic universities is the formation of witnesses of Jesus Christ, which is carried out admirably in the Middle East."

"Everyone in Iraq, Christians and Muslims alike, has suffered because of the war."

"Hope is always alive once we realize that God is there despite all the challenges that are really giving us all the suffering."

"The only path to take to placate violence is dialogue. Only then will we be able to isolate these extremist groups and become a tolerant country. Now we must seek to be close to our small community and give ourselves strength and encouragement."

"'Why is the house burning? Who is the one who started the fire? That is how the firemen continued to argue amongst themselves. Do not spend your time arguing to do this or to do that. In the time that we have spent in this meeting, four children have died."

"We do not need your guilt feelings. We need your friendship."

"I can't leave my people, though I understand completely why they are going. The situation has become intolerable."

"Everyone wants to get his piece of cake, and small sectarian states always fighting with their neighbors will be created, and this is against our own good, and against our future."

"Our people, they do need the presence of the Catholic Church, this is the task of the Catholic Church today, to be the Good Samaritan."

"We pray and work for peace and for freedom of religion, not just freedom of worship. The country, in order to grow, needs peace and security."

"Every Christian lives brotherhood, solidarity, the desire to reconstruct the country. But obviously there can be difference of opinion. We are men, naturally. But on the good of Iraq there is agreement, and all the various Christian voices come together without difficulty in an appeal, to say to the people and the government that the Christians want to be considered fully Iraqi, they have been here for millennia, before anyone else, and they have always and in any case been with Iraq and for Iraq. Those who see us as Westerners are making a mistake, we are not Americans, or English, but Iraqi."

"A solution is possible if we can come together in dialogue and try to achieve reforms in an atmosphere of trust and not with military violence; if we in the Middle East can guarantee human rights such as is the case in the Western countries. Our governments have also committed themselves to this, but they do little to achieve it."

"This situation is a challenge not only for Christians, but for the whole world. After all, the fanatics want to make the whole world Islamic. The West should help us so that we can stay and do not have to leave. Iraq is our land; we have our traditions and values there. When we are in Western Europe we feel lost. We live in a very closeknit family community, but among you Westerners individualism is the rule. We are very important for the Muslims in Iraq, too, thanks to our openness, our qualifications, and our Christian values. We witness to something different. The world has the duty of reminding the government in Iraq to uphold human rights so that the religious minorities can live their faith."

"Please, try to understand us. Your liberal and democratic principles are worth nothing here. You must consider again our reality in the Middle East, because you are welcoming in your countries an ever growing number of Muslims. Also you are in danger. You must take strong and courageous decisions, even at the cost of contradicting your principles. You think all men are equal, but that is not true: Islam does not say that all men are equal. Your values are not their values. If you do not understand this soon enough, you will become the victims of the enemy you have welcomed in your home."

"We should not look at the situation from a too human perspective. The strength and dynamism of a Christian community does not depend on its numbers. Besides, I believe that our situation is less serious than that of the Christian communities in the West. They are swamped in an environment where the majority of Europeans have no faith or are indifferent, whereas our Muslim neighbors are a constant reminder for us of God."

"Europe has made a mistake in cutting itself off from its spiritual and cultural roots because it has weakened it. A tree without roots to nourish it will necessarily dry up. Europe is not only Christian but also Greco-Latin, a time when concepts like justice, laws, citizenship already existed... People of very diverse cultural and religious backgrounds have immigrated to Europe in recent decades. And only the proponents of political Islam are trying to impose their lifestyle on the native population. Europe should seize the opportunity to have so many Muslims on its soil to help them free themselves and respect the religion of the countries that welcome them."

"Security remains a source of instability and fear leading to lack of investment and to people leaving. The international community knows this. There needs to be a collective will, both internationally and locally, to right the wrongs of persecution and to protect the unprotected. It is an issue that needs to be addressed with determination, commitment and passion in order to resolve it for the betterment for all."