The Knights of St Columbus will send €1.7m for Christians displaced from their homes by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq. In 2014, the Islamic State removed hundreds of families of religious minorities from their homes in Karamdes, a mostly Christian town on the Ninevah Plain in Iraq. Two years later the town was liberated.
The Knights of Columbus will raise $2 million (€1.69m) to assist these families in returning to their homes, according to Knights CEO Carl Anderson, who announced their pledge at the Knights’ 135th annual Supreme Convention held last week in the US.
“The terrorists desecrated churches and graves and looted and destroyed homes,” Mr Anderson said in his annual report. “Now we will ensure that hundreds of Christian families driven from their homes can return to these two locations and help to ensure a pluralistic future for Iraq.”
The Knights are following the example of the Hungarian government, whose new spending bill allowed for $2 million to be sent to the Archdiocese of Irbil in Iraq, assisting with the rebuilding of a Christian community near Mosul, Iraq. This proved extremely successful, and allowed families to return to their homes.
The cost of resettling one family is around €1,700, which is the amount the Knights are encouraging councils, parishes and individuals to donate.
“These Christian communities are a priceless treasure for the Church,” Anderson said to the Knights. “They have every right to live.”
