Chaldeans in France: a "Praying Community" Monsignor Philip Najim

Interview to Mgr. Philip Najim by Baghdadhope

Last year, as the Apostolic Visitator of Chaldeans in Europe you made a trip to Germany and to Scandinavian countries. Some days ago you returned from a short trip to France, do you want to talk to us about it?

"This trip, unlike that of last year, unfortunately began for a sad occasion: the funeral of Father Davut Gunes, a senior Chaldean priest of Turkish origin who died in Paris on January 21. The funeral ceremony the Chaldean priests in France asked me to celebrate was attended by about 2000 people and was held in the Chaldean church of St. Thomas the Apostle in Sarcelles, in the outskirts of Paris. Present, demonstrating the serious grief that struck the community, were also Father Sabri Anar, the pastor of Sarcelles, Father Michaël Dumand and Father Aziz Yalap from Sarcelles too, Mgr. Antoine Goral and Father Suleiman Öz from Belgium, Mgr. François Yakan, the Chaldean Patriarchal Vicar in Turkey and, representing the Latin church in France, the Bishop of Pontoise, Mgr. Jean Yves Riocreux. Absent was, for teaching commitments at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome, Mgr. Petrus Yosif, Chaldean Vicar Chaldean in Paris."

Did you have other liturgical meetings?

"Yes, I had the opportunity to meet many members of my community in Sarcelles and Arnouville Les Gonesse, always on the outskirts of Paris, where the church dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi was packed with young people."

Chaldean emigration to France is old, what kind of community did you find there? "The definition that first comes to my mind is that of a praying community in which the church, as an institution, is at the centre of everybody’s life. The Chaldeans in France are fully integrated into the social fabric of the country: young people who were born there and who consider themselves as French of Catholic Chaldean rite, and older people who in many cases worked hard and were successful in their professions. This integration, however, has not erased the attachment to our liturgical and linguistic traditions that are expressed through the active presence of the church and in the church."

The church not only as a place of worship but also as a centre of a community?

"Of course. A place where faith and traditions are preserved. For the funeral of Father Gunes, for example, the tradition of "Food of Mercy" has been respected. For it every family brought to the church some food to be offered after the ceremony to all the presents. One way to process the grief inside the community and to strengthen its ties. The church also is a central meeting place for young people and place of intense pastoral programmes excellently organized by a clergy carachterized by a high degree of cooperation among their members. In the churches there are the training courses for subdeacons, of Aramaic language and the meetings of the community in the occasion of the different celebrations. "

No problems then for the Chaldeans in France…

"I would say no. The process of social integration has been and is based on many factors. The seriousness and commitment demonstrated in the field of work by the Chaldeans, their respect for the rules of the country they live in, the priests representing the contact with the local communities, the presence of many young people who have been the cultural bridge between their parents and French people they grew up with, even the mixed marriages that there have been. The Chaldean community is supportive but not closed in itself."

What is the country from which most Chaldeans living in France come and how the Chaldean church is organized?

"Most Chaldeans are from Turkie and so are many priests. Regarding the organization of the Chaldean church mission in Paris it is led since 1987 by Monsignor Petrus Yousif who is also responsible for the Church of Our Lady of Chaldeans in Paris where, I want to stress, thanks to his intensive work there is a rich library full of texts on the history of the Chaldean church, theology, liturgy and patristic. Also in Sarcelles most people come from Turkie while most Iraqis are located in Lyon, where the mission is entrusted, with the permission of the Latin bishop, to Father Anis, an Iraqi Dominican. In Marseille, where the care of the faithful is entrusted to Father Paul Bashi, the Iraqis are many too. Moreover, during this trip I could visit the newly acquired land for the construction of another church in Sarcelles. Something that reflects the growth of the community."

On the web site of the Chaldean mission in France we read that the Chaldean church, present in France since the 40s had its first definitive seat in Paris in 1992 and in Sarcelles in 2001. Now another church is under, construction. Can I ask how these works were financed?

"When the church of Our Lady of Chaldeans in Paris was built there was a financial contribution by the Congregation for Oriental Churches in Rome. Everything else has been built thanks to the efforts of the Chaldean faithful."

As the Apostolic Visitator of the Chaldeans in Europe did you meet some representative of the French Catholic church?

"Yes. Besides Mgr. Jean Yves Roicreux, Bishop of Pontoise, I met Mgr. Claude Bressolette, Vicar General of the Bishoprich for Oriental Catholic faithful in France. Both meetings have confirmed the perfect harmony between the Chaldean church and that of France and between the various topics that have been discussed, I like to remember the announcement of a large representation of young Chaldeans in Sydney as part of the French delegation at the next World Youth Day. "

In another interview, we talked about the situation of Iraqi refugees in Sweden. What is the situation in France? "

"In France the number of refugees is much lower than in Sweden. The rules on asylum are different, and the existing communities, those who have greater power of attraction on refugees, are mostly of Turkish origin. France is not currently a living situation comparable to the Swedish one.”

From your words it’s clear you are satisfied by this trip to France...

"It’s true. The meetings with young people, which I greatly appreciate, the prayers of the faithful, the churches full, confirmed again that the church is really the “Word of God.”