Nitra Bishop Viliam Judák in a message read out in all churches of the diocese on Sunday called on the faithful to be benign towards the persecuted Iraqi Christians who recently arrived in Slovakia. The 149 Assyrian Christians (25 families) originally should have been placed in the Nitra region, but after the locals in several villages showed displeasure with such a move, the refugees have ended up in an asylum centre in Humenné (Prešov region) for the time being. The integration process at the asylum centre should now take between eight months to two years. Judák called on the faithful to be receptive towards the Christian refugees in the spirit of the recently deceased Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec, who was an "icon of the persecuted Church" during Communism.
Prime Minister Robert Fico on Saturday stated that it's far easier to integrate Christians from the Middle East in Slovak society than Muslims. "The idea of multiculturalism has completely failed," said Fico when providing remarks on the voluntary reception of 149 Assyrian Christian refugees from Iraq by Slovakia earlier this week. According to him, the Government will engage in intense talks with the Catholic Church on placing the refugees. "I believe that we'll find a solution that will result in individual families gradually establishing themselves among our people. They're Christians who'll normally take part in this country's life, so I believe in their natural integration," added the prime minister.
