VATICAN CITY – To understand the current situation in Iraq – the evolving and complex conflicts there, and the fear and resilience of its Christians – one has to understand its past, which is often ignored or unknown in the West, said a former papal representative to the country.

VANCOUVER – A famous photograph of a naked child running, screaming and covered with napalm burns captured the horror of the Vietnam War 45 years ago.

Evolution, Charles Darwin famously stated, works through the survival of the fittest. Christianity, on the other hand, is committed to the survival of the weakest.

VATICAN CITY - In a joint statement, representatives of more than 50 countries have recognized that Christians are particularly endangered in the Middle East, and they called on the international community to reaffirm the human right to freedom of religion.