Chaldeans urged to ‘defend Christian identity’ in indifferent world

The bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church encouraged laity and clergy to defend their Christian identity “in a world that is tending toward indifference”.

The Chaldean synod met in Baghdad on 15-19 July and issued a series of messages, focusing on the unity of Chaldean Christians despite hardships in Iraq which have driven many to emigrate from the Church’s historic home.

“The storm must pass and things return to normal,” the bishops said in a message to Chaldeans worldwide.  “Unity and solidarity are the strength of salvation, while division and dispersion are destructive.”

This was the synod’s first meeting since the head of the Church, the Patriarch of Babylon Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, returned to the Iraqi capital after the government restored its official “recognition” of his position and responsibility for the Church’s assets.

Sako had gone into self-imposed exile in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region in July last year, after President Abdul Latif Rashid withdrew a 2013 decree recognising the patriarch’s status.  Sako told the synod “that I, personally, was not the target [of this measure], as some officials claimed, but rather its purpose was to seize Church properties”.

In his address to the bishops, the patriarch encouraged them “to be open to what is happening in the Church and to follow the ‘progress’ taking place…since our world is changing”, and to voice any disagreements through the Chaldean synod.

“Problems inevitably may arise, but could be addressed through the synod in a responsible dialogue, instead of ‘boycotting’,” he said.  Several bishops were not present at the synod, “without legal justification” according to its message to the clergy and laity.

The synod’s final communiqué praised “the legal and courageous initiative” of Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani for restoring the patriarch’s official recognition.  It urged the prime minister – who met the bishops on 18 July – to “take concrete steps in building peace and stability” and to respect Iraqi Christians as equal citizens, rather than indulge “sectarian interests”.

The bishops also appealed for peace and a two-state solution in the Holy Land, and for solidarity between different Christina denominations in the Middle East.

They said the Church “needs a new vision about the future” as well as practical support “to stabilise Christians in their land, preserving their identity”.

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