Chaldean Catholic bishop is buried

BAGHDAD (AP) — Mourners carrying flowers and olive branches buried one of Iraq’s most senior Chaldean Catholic clerics Friday, one day after his body was found in a northern Iraqi city where al-Qaida retains its last urban stronghold.

Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen two weeks ago, just minutes after performing Mass. Three of his aides were killed during the kidnapping, the latest in a series of attacks on Iraq’s small Christian community.

Pope Benedict XVI, President Bush and Iraq’s prime minister condemned the attack. U.S. officials in Baghdad issued a statement Friday, calling it “one more savage attempt by a barbaric enemy to sow strife and discord.”

During the funeral in a village outside Mosul in northern Iraq, grieving Christians wept and wailed as the archbishop’s coffin was carried down the streets, led by a church official carrying a wooden cross affixed with Rahho’s picture.

Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Iraqi Christians have been targeted by Islamic extremists who label them “crusaders” loyal to U.S. troops. Militants have attacked churches, priests and businesses owned by Christians, many of whom have fled the country in a trend mirrored across the Islamic world.

The Chaldean church is an Eastern-rite denomination aligned with the Roman Catholic Church that recognizes the authority of the pope.