Catholics are now in Iraq helping to rebuild the homes of Christians that were destroyed by the Islamic State

By Theodore Shoebat

Catholics, part of the Knights of Columbus, are doing good work in Iraq, helping to rebuild the homes of Christians that were destroyed the Islamic State. As we read in one report from Catholic Philly:

 From a town of just over 900 people, a Knights of Columbus council and its 162 members hope to have a big impact halfway around the world.

They are supporting an effort to help Christians in Syria and Iraq who were driven from their homes by terrorism, genocide and war.

Titled “Rebuilding the Cradle of Christianity,” the initiative is the local version of a national Knights of Columbus effort to help Christians who fled to escape the terrorist group Islamic State and the devastation of their towns, with many now living in other countries or in refugee camps.

St. John the Baptist Parish Knights of Columbus Council 10305 in Fort Calhoun took up the cause of funding construction of hundreds of homes in the town of Karamdes, a mostly Christian town on the Ninevah Plain in Iraq.

This will allow residents to return and rebuild their lives, said Mike Conrad, a supreme director on the national board and a member of the parish who is co-coordinator of the local effort.

“This is the biggest project our council has ever been involved with,” said Jim Hubschman, the council’s grand knight and project co-coordinator. “We’re very committed to helping these people who want to go back to their homelands.”

Karamdes, southeast of Mosul, fell to ISIS as it advanced across northern Iraq in August 2014. The town was liberated in late 2016, and residents have gradually been returning.

But of the town’s nearly 800 homes, 464 were burned, 97 were destroyed by bombs and the rest were damaged or vandalized, according to a report by Open Doors, an international ministry serving persecuted Christians and churches around the world. Churches and sacred images also were destroyed or vandalized.