No new word on kidnapped Iraqi bishop.

I've been combing wire reports over the last few days for more information on the kidnapping of Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho; the little I've read is far from encouraging, and I urge readers to keep praying for the release of Archbishop Rahho and for the flock he shepherds. AsiaNews reports that mediators expect to hear from Archbishop Rahho's still-unidentified kidnappers tonight, a couple of days after the group made a call raising its ransom demands and setting "political conditions" for the release of Archbishop Rahho. Pope Benedict XVI has issued a public call for Rahho's release and Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has ordered Iraqi security forces to search for the kidnapped archbishop. In his public statement on the kidnapping, al-Maliki said that "Christians in Iraq are an essential component of the Iraqi society and a part that cannot be separated from the Iraqi people and civilization. Any assault on the Christians is an assault on all Iraqis." It's good to hear such words, but I'm also skeptical about what kind of action is backing them up. The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch (and Cardinal) Emmanuel III Delly seems to share my skepticism; the Iraqi newspaper Azzaman cites Cardinal Delly as saying that the Iraqi government hasn't kept its promises to protect Iraq's beleaguered Christian community. God only knows where all this is heading. Once again, I ask your prayers for Archbishop Rahho and for the Christians of Iraq. AMDG.