An Iraqi archbishop spoke of “near-genocide conditions” for Christians in his country and said those fleeing violence were straining resources in other parts of the country.

Archbishop Bashar Warda of Irbil, Iraq, said part of the problem was the country’s “weak constitution, which tries to please two masters.”

“We are living in a region which cannot decide if it is for democracy or Islamic law,” he said March 16 at news conference sponsored by the Catholic charitable agency Aid to the Church in Need.

Catholic San Francisco