Gunmen have kidnapped the archbishop of the Chaldean Catholic Church in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and killed three of his aides, his church says.
Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho was seized as he left a church in the eastern al-Nour district, it added.
Pope Benedict XVI deplored the kidnapping as a "despicable" crime.
Most of Iraq's estimated 700,000 Christians are Chaldeans - Catholics who are autonomous from Rome but recognise the Pope's authority.
Many have been targeted since the 2004 invasion by Sunni extremists groups.
In January, bombs exploded outside three Chaldean and Assyrian churches in Mosul. Several Christian priests have also been kidnapped or killed during the past five years.
'Fervent prayer'
Archbishop Rahho had just left the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul, where he had been leading afternoon prayers, when his car was ambushed by armed men, a church spokesman said.
The gunmen opened fire on the car, killing his two companions and driver, before kidnapping the archbishop, he added.
Bishop Rabban al-Qas of the nearby city of Irbil said his 65-year-old colleague, who was ordained archbishop of Mosul in 2001, was "in the hands of terrorists".
"But we don't know what physical condition [he is in]," he told the Rome-based Catholic news service, AsiaNews.
"It's a terrible time for our church - pray for us," he added.
The kidnappers have reportedly communicated their demands, but these have not been made public.
The Vatican later issued a statement saying the Pope was saddened by "this despicable act" which "touches the whole of the church in that country".
"The Holy Father asks the universal Church to join in his fervent prayer so that reason and humanity prevails in the kidnappers and Monsignor Rahho is returned to his flock soon," it said.
The incident comes less than year after a Chaldean priest and three sub-deacons were gunned down the same church in Mosul after celebrating Sunday Mass.
The Syrian Catholic archbishop of Mosul, Basile Georges Casmoussa, was kidnapped at gunpoint in 2005, but was released after one day without a ransom having been paid.
Oh dear.
Indeed, it's a very despicable act.
Mother Mary, pls intercede for them.
This is the time when his faith would matter the most. I hope he succeeded in preserving his faith.
testing of the faith n commitment ba
It's in today's Indonesian Kompas newspaper: His body has been found .
Anyone know why somebody would kill him?
Did any party/anyone try to negotiate for his release?
May his spirit be in peace in the presence of God.
May he rest in peace, and may we be inspired by the example set by him and all other martyrs of the faith.
Originally posted by Miracles&Prophecies:It's in today's Indonesian Kompas newspaper: His body has been found .
Anyone know why somebody would kill him?
Did any party/anyone try to negotiate for his release?
May his spirit be in peace in the presence of God.
he was chucked into the trunk of a car
in the dark he managed to call his church people
and told them not to pay money for his release
he's a martyr
RIP
The other martyr I saw now holds great power(now I know the meaning of the crown of life) I hope he gets as much.
Anyone who put their faith in God until the end won't certainly be dissapointed.