Washington (AsiaNews/Agencies) – US Catholic bishops want "specific measures" in favour of Iraqi Christians and other religious minorities. Their "rapidly deteriorating situation" is causing "deep concern and growing alarm," writes Mgr Thomas G. Wenski, chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on International Policy in a letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The letter stresses that the Christian community continues to decline from a pre-war population of over 1.2 million to a current estimate of about 600,000.

It points out that, according to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, approximately 44 per cent of Iraqi refugees are Christian, even though they represent only about 4 per cent of the total population of Iraq.

"The growing and deliberate targeting of Christians," the letter says, "is an ominous sign of the breakdown in Iraqi society of civil order and inter-religious respect and represents a grave violation of human rights and religious liberty."

The recent beheading of a Syriac Orthodox priest in Mosul and the abduction and rape of Christian women and teenage girls explain why Christians are fleeing, Mgr Wenski said.

"The vulnerability of Christians and other religious minorities is dramatic evidence of the serious and growing security challenges facing the entire nation of Iraq."

According to the letter, to improve Christians' particular security situation, the US government should consider the creation of a new "Administrative Region" in the Nineveh Plain Area that would be directly related to the central government in Baghdad. This could provide them with greater safety and offer them "more opportunity to control their own affairs".

Since Christians are seeking refuge in the northern part of the country, the letter also urges the US government to work with Kurdish authorities to ensure the safety of Christians.

Furthermore, it calls for "an urgent review of economic reconstruction aid programs [. . .] to make sure that the aid is distributed fairly so that all elements of Iraqi society are able to rebuild their communities."

Mgr Wenski ends the missive with a plea, asking US authorities to adopt a "more generous refugee and asylum policy" for those fleeing for their lives.