Dear Brother and Sister Catholics,

My name is Fr. John Abou Khalife, LM, director of TV Charity in Lebanon.

I am writing to present a brief description of An Open Door -- a documentary on Iraq that is a joint effort of the Chaldean, Syrian, Maronite and Latin rites – an entire team of volunteers. The global Catholic community must work together to provide opportunities and encouragement for Catholics living in the Middle East.

An Open Door is a response to the Church’s call for ecumenism and the Holy Father’s call to help Christians in the Middle East. This five part documentary provides insight into the minds and hearts of Catholics living in Iraq. Their peaceful nature and status as a minority, too small to defend themselves, have caused Iraqi Catholics to be targeted and made victims of war after war. Due to this situation, the Christian population in Iraq has fallen from over 1.5 million to only 3-400,000, and is continuing to drop. The most important aspect of this documentary is to show Iraqi Catholics in their true light, conveying to the world that Catholics in the Middle East are neither terrorists nor refugees. They are people – individuals with a deep faith, rich heritage, and courage.

The enclosed episode has health as its primary issue, and will be followed by episodes about spirituality, education, contributions of Iraqi Catholics, and employment.

In order for Catholics to be able to stay in Iraq and foster positive relations with their Muslim neighbors, and for those who have already migrated due to persecution or poverty to stay connected to their religion and roots, the global Catholic community must work together to provide opportunities that enable Catholics to shed their refugee status, and become fully participating Iraqi citizens once again. This will occur through the construction of Catholic schools and hospitals, and development of industry. This is something Iraqis long for and are ready to work for, and a gift for which Iraqi Catholics will be forever grateful to those who can help them.

With our Mother Mary, Comforter of the Afflicted and Queen of Peace, we unite ourselves to you in prayer and solidarity in support of the Catholics in the Middle East.

In Christ