Iraqi nun initially denied visa because ISIS drove her from home now headed for US
"Religious freedom advocates rejoiced Friday when the State Department reversed a controversial decision denying a visa for an Iraqi Catholic nun who sought to tell Americans about ISIS violent persecution of Christians.Sister Diana Momeka is a leading representative of the Nineveh Christians who have been killed and chased from their homes in and around Mosul by ISIS.Momeka, who has been likened to Mother Teresa for her work with the poor and persecuted, was turned down, she said, because she was "internally displaced" in Iraq, and deemed a risk to stay in the U.S., where she once lived and studied for six years. Ironically, her displacement came at the hands of ISIS, and is the very subject she hopes to discuss during her trip.ADVERTISEMENTThat really hurt, Sister Diana told Nina Shea, director of Hudson Institutes Center for Religious Freedom, in a phone interview after the visa was denied. Now that her visit is back on, Sister Diana plans to come to Washington later this month to meet with the Senate and House foreign-relations committees, the State Department, USAID and various NGOs to describe the atrocities in her area.Members of the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiativeone of the groups sponsoring Sister Dianas Washington trip -- told Fox News they were thrilled at the news of the State Departments reversal and look forward to her visit, Lou Ann Sabatier, Communications Director, 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative told Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/05/09/state-dept-reverses-visa-denial-for-iraqi-nun-to-speak-on-isis-christian/?intcmp=populardiscussions
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