There are misunderstandings between Americans and Arabs in general, or between Americans and Iraqis, but I am sure that cultural dialogue is possible. If you try to understand others, and others try to understand you, you can meet. But some difficulties in international politics are making this dialogue difficult. In the Middle East you have other problems. The question of Israel and Palestinians is very important for everybody, and not to find peace makes things more difficult, even culturally. There are many important and deep differences, but it isn't impossible to overcome these difficulties and to have reciprocity in some way in this dialogue.

There are many [differences] ... even with the concept of God himself, the concept of the person, of freedom. Generally societies in the Middle East, especially Arab, Islamic societies, are more tribal anthropologically or ethnologically, so the person isn't evident. The group is more important than the person. ... This means there is a problem in considering a person as free, as having his own rights. It is necessary to belong to a group to have rights, or to be "good" with the ruler. Sometimes I had the feeling, and I was very sad, that the ruler was giving you your freedom. Sometimes we've been told that Saddam loved Christians and then [gave] them freedom, but freedom isn't a gift of a ruler, even if he thinks he is doing well. Freedom is a right. These kinds of differences are very important between cultures. I don't think it's the same for Americans. They spontaneously accept the person as something to respect, something to take care of.

Christians in Iraq now, really, are free, but there are difficulties to enjoy this freedom. After the war, the Ministry of Enrollment that used to control religions, churches, etc. has been changed, really changed. Now we have three councils for religion: one for Sunni, one for Shi'a, and another for Christians and other minorities. On this council are all representatives of every church and every minority, so officially this is something you can decide for yourself. It is very different than before. It means that really there is freedom of religion in Iraq, more than in the past. But this society isn't reconciled with itself. You have many fundamentalist groups, many frustrated individuals. They can damage, by their violence, many things.

Last Easter, and even the Christmas before, some of our Christians were very afraid. We really took some measures. The street where I have the cathedral was closed to cars during feasts or celebrations. The fear has been at all times present. But we did not imagine that churches can be targeted, because churches are not doing politics, are not fighting. They are only for prayers and for worship, and if there was some other thing that we have done, it was to give people [food] to eat. We have been distributing, especially after the war and even until now, help to people, so [there is] no reason to target churches. This is increasing confusion, increasing anarchy, increasing frustrations. Insurgents can achieve their own aims better if they integrate with the new force to rebuild Iraq.

The coming of many [Christian] preachers to Iraq after the war has also been creating some confusion. For Muslims, it was perceived like a provocation: "They are coming to convert us." Some preachers were very enthusiastic and said, "We come to convert you," so this has been very negative. For Christians, it was really confusing. If they come to convert, I think they are not doing well. They are increasing the divisions between Christians themselves. Churches in Iraq are very old, from apostolic times, so it means that Christians [do not need to be] converted. They are survivors of a very long, difficult history of Christianity in the Middle East. They are proud to be survivors of old churches. And if you profit from their poverty, maybe from their ignorance, because they have been isolated for many times from other countries, from culture in general, I think it isn't very respectful. If missionaries in Iraq want to help churches, they can do it through churches, not building other churches and increasing divisions. Maybe in the United States it's easier to have a new community; it's in the culture of the country. But if you have a new community in Iraq, it means -- in your church, in your confession -- separation. It means a new tribe.

To convert Muslims directly isn't realistic, and perhaps it isn't so evangelical. I think the best way to proclaim Christ in the Middle East -- especially in Iraq -- is to be a witness of Christ by living, by doing what many churches are doing to help people really show the love of God and his mercy for humanity. It means to be silent, to pray, and to act without visibility sometimes.

Maybe 100 meters from my own cathedral we have been surprised by a new church. Really, it was a house, a residence, but it has been changed to become a church. We found something growing very, very rapidly in a quarter [where] most of the inhabitants are Christians, and there are many churches. I think [some missionaries] came to Iraq as invaders also, and for some they have been associated with the soldiers. It isn't good for them, and some of them have also been killed. This is also regretful.

Usually [Christian-Muslim] relations are strong. People know each other, people do business with each other, they shop in the same place. People are encouraged not to provoke one another. Christians avoid provoking Muslims. They live together. More than that is difficult where there has never been interfaith dialogue in the deep sense of the word. But there is friendship: Muslims attend Christian weddings, Muslims attend Christian funerals. There are social relations. It used to exist, and it still does, but violence affects this and creates differences and fear among people. There is no Islamic law -- only groups with their own political agendas. These groups in the past used to threaten us, but now they actually do it.

Our prayer life is first personal prayer, and then public prayer. In our cathedral and other churches we have midday masses, especially on Sundays and feasts. We have many encounters for catechism and religious formation. We have some days also to give help -- to give people [food] to eat or sometimes also health care. Many hours are spent in receiving people and visiting. Liturgical prayer is scheduled every day, but you cannot schedule everything. Maybe prayer helps us to be ready to do things that we didn't schedule. ...

The most important thing, really, is to overcome violence. I think the government has begun to work seriously to control the violence, but it will take time. Maybe we will have other dramas, other bombings, other killings in the next months. This violence is a kind of illness.