Basile Georges Casmoussa

Basile Georges Casmoussa ( born October 25, 1938 in Karakosch, Iraq) is Syrian Catholic priest and Archbishop Curia in the Patriarchate of Antioch in Lebanon.

Life

Casmoussa occurred in 1951 in the seminar " St. John " in Mosul, where he graduated from the philosophical and theological studies. On June 10, 1962 he was ordained a priest. In the following two years he acted as the head of the seminar in Charfet (Lebanon) and at the same time as an employee in the Curia of the Patriarchate of Syrokatholiken in Beirut.

From 1964 he devoted himself to youth work in his home country of Iraq and was also the Editorial Director of the magazine " Al- Fikr Al Masihi ".

From 1973 to 1976 he studied social sciences at the Catholic University of Leuven and closed

Casmoussa conducted from 1999 to 2011, the Syrian Catholic archeparchy Mosul, after he had received the episcopal consecration by the Patriarch and later Cardinal Ignatius Moussa I Daoud on 9 December 1999.

On 17 January 2005 Casmoussa was forced by media reports and reports from the Vatican before his church by armed men in a car and taken to an unknown location. The Vatican condemned in a statement the kidnapping sharp and spoke of a terrorist act. It called for the immediate release. After 24 hours, he was released without payment of ransom.

On 1 March 2011 he was beatified by Benedict XVI. appointed Archbishop Curia of the Patriarchate united with Rome Syrian Catholic Church of Antioch in Beirut.

Pope Francis appointed him on 13 January 2014 Apostolic Visitor for the Syrian Catholics in Western Europe.