By Baghdadhope
In the locality of Kamena Vourla, overlooking the blue sea of central Greece, the fourth meeting of the Chaldean priests living and working in Europe took place in the beginning of September. Communion, sympathy, agreement, these are the words that come to mind listening to Mgr. Philip Najim, Chaldean Procurator to the Holy See and Apostolic Visitor in Europe who strongly wanted the meeting.
"We were 13 priests. In addition to me and to Father Yousef Shamoun, who is parish priest in Karamles and who was visiting Greece in those days, there were priests from 7 European countries: Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, France and Greece. This can be considered a success and a demonstration of how our priests want and know how to find the time and the opportunity to meet to exchange their views for the good of the church and its faithful. For an entire day, moreover, Archbishop Dimitrios Salachas, the Apostolic Exarch for Catholics Greeks of Byzantine rite and holder of the episcopal seat of Carcabia, who made the meeting possible and who expressed his appreciation for the initiative in a beautiful letter, was and prayed with us."
In the locality of Kamena Vourla, overlooking the blue sea of central Greece, the fourth meeting of the Chaldean priests living and working in Europe took place in the beginning of September. Communion, sympathy, agreement, these are the words that come to mind listening to Mgr. Philip Najim, Chaldean Procurator to the Holy See and Apostolic Visitor in Europe who strongly wanted the meeting.
"We were 13 priests. In addition to me and to Father Yousef Shamoun, who is parish priest in Karamles and who was visiting Greece in those days, there were priests from 7 European countries: Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, France and Greece. This can be considered a success and a demonstration of how our priests want and know how to find the time and the opportunity to meet to exchange their views for the good of the church and its faithful. For an entire day, moreover, Archbishop Dimitrios Salachas, the Apostolic Exarch for Catholics Greeks of Byzantine rite and holder of the episcopal seat of Carcabia, who made the meeting possible and who expressed his appreciation for the initiative in a beautiful letter, was and prayed with us."
A spiritual retreat but also a meeting with many topics on the agenda, which ones?
"From a spiritual point of view the meeting was marked by the Holy Mass celebrated every morning in the presence of all priests, and by a beautiful lecture given by Father Firas Ghazi, our parish priest in Holland, focusing on the theme of Charity and Love. On the need to "feel" in the depths of our hearts charity and love so to be able to communicate these values not in a superficial way but penetrating in the hearts of the faithful who, in turn, become communicators among their relatives, their friends, their colleagues. From the point of view of the agenda of the meeting there were different moments. In the beginning every priest told the experience of his pastoral work, the problems the community living in the country where he lives has to face, especially those linked to the huge influx of the faithful fled from Iraq who in many cases live in a difficult situation made of illegality, lack of work, uncertainty of the future. These stories were followed by questions made by the other priests trying to understand and learn from others to better serve their communities."
How are the Chaldean parishes organized in Europe?
"The organization is different from the Latin parishes. According to the canon law they are "personal parishes" in the sense that, for example, Father Faris Toma, parish priest in Denmark, follows approximately 400 families residing in the country in two different cities and his parish, therefore, has no borders."
As already mentioned emigration was one of the major topics discussed during the meeting. What proposals were made by priests who, as the first contact for migrant communities, are also the custodians of all the pains and difficulties that the flight from one’s country always entails?
"We discussed programmes to be implemented to help these people to rebuild their lives, to intregrate in the countries they are living in now. An interesting debate because it clarified that the purpose of the integration of our community abroad is not only its bureaucratic and economic accommodation, but also the preservation of the values of tradition, liturgy, language and culture that are the precious cultural background of these people. A background that must be brought out for two reasons. The first is to make these people understand that even of they were forced to leave their homeland, their jobs, their belongings, and feel that they've lost everything and count little they are important because each of them, in his own way and to a different extent, is an integral part of our ancient history. The second is to make the countries that host them understand that their different cultural background is a source of enrichment and not of clash or misunderstanding. Integration does not mean cancellation of themselves. As the Chaldeans in Europe will learn new ways of living and facing the future, Europeans will be aware of a religious reality, the Churches of the East, that will astonish them for the depth of its Christian feelings. Another topic on the agenda focused on the liturgical reform of Missal approved by the Holy See in February 2006 and studied in depth by the Patriarchal Liturgical Commission of the Chaldean Church formed by Mgr. Sarhad P. Jammo (California), Mgr. Jacques Isaac (Baghdad) and Mgr. Petrus Yosif (France). In this regard we sent to Mgr. Jammo the request of the texts in Aramaic and of the booklets explaining the rite of Holy Mass according tradition and liturgy in Arabic and English. After receiving the material the priests will begin to study it in order to explain it to the faithful and gradually put it into practice.”
Can you make us an example of how, in application of the liturgical reform, the Chaldean rite differs from the Latin?
"There are many examples but to cite one we could talk about the priest who during the presentation of bread and wine and during the Eucharistic prayer addresses, as the faithful, his prayer to God turning his gaze to the Cross, the symbol of Christ, the Son of God.”
Will it be difficult to make the faithful used to the rite according to the new provisions?
"It will be a challenge for the priests who will guide them, but they seem ready to accept it. In any case during the meeting in Greece we created two committees. The Liturgical Committeee led by Father Paul Rabban (Sweden) and Father Isaac Roni (Greece) that will work on the matter, and will deal with the unification of the rites of sacraments such as baptism, marriage, funeral. The other is the Committee for Vocations, led by Father Sami Dinkha, former rector of the Chaldean seminary in Baghdad and by Father Firas Ghazi who has a specialization in spirituality, and that will promote and follow the vocation of the young who want to be near to God and to His church.”
So the reality of so many immigrants in Europe is also made of vocations?
"Yes. The parish in Essen, for example, in agreement with the Rector of the Chaldean seminary of Saints Peter and Paul who is now in Erbil, Fr. Bashar Warda, already sent two students who had the vocation here in Europe.”
How the Chaldean Church proceedes in the case of these vocations outside of Iraq?
"With regard to Europe if someone feels that he wants to dedicate and entrust his life to God he usually contacts his parish priest whose task is to examine his vocation and his true intentions and then to communicate them to the Latin bishop of the diocese where the church is. At that point the aspiring priest is sent to study in a Latin seminar or in the patriarchal one in the homeland.”
As Apostolic Visitor of the Chaldean Church in Europe and organizer of the meeting in Greece you certainly have a clear image of the situation of the tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians living in the Old Continent immigrated here years ago or recently fled from Iraq. What can you tell us about the different European realities?
"They are different because different are the rules concerning refugees. Sweden, for example, accepted the largest number of Iraqi refugees, Muslims and Christians, but now, just because of their high number and the new rules, there are problems such as delays in the granting of residence permits. In Greece the situation is worse because the right of residence and then to health system, education and work is not granted to refugees. The refugees are illegal and as such they are forced to live. The 2500 Iraqi Chaldean Christians in Greece, for example, depend on the church because even when and if they find a job it is always an illegal one and as such underpaid and not sufficient to live on.”
How can you comment the recent position taken by the Dutch Government that would encourage the return of many Iraqi refugees whilst ensuring special protection to members of minorities at risk as, among others, Christians?
"This is a rather delicate question that for now I would not want to comment. It will be better to wait any future developments, and in any case the church does not interfere with the decisions of governments about policies to be implemented towards refugees.”
Are there Iraqi refugees in Italy?
"Someone certainly there is, but Italy is considered only a nation of transit toward those countries where there are already some communities and that have a programme of assistance to refugees that Italy does not provide.”
At the next synod of the bishops to be held in Rome from October 5 to 26 dedicated to "the Word of God in the life and mission of the church" the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, H.B. Cardinal Mar Emmanule III Delly will be present. How important will be the testimony of a man of church who always supported the words of dialogue in a delicate situation such as that Iraq is living?
“In Iraq dialogue always existed, it was not born after or as a consequence of recent military events. The Church and the people always were protagonists of the dialogue in daily life, a life made up of churches and mosques nearby, not only physically but also in personal relationships. The importance of dialogue is obvious. It means to talk, to discuss, to understand, but above all to build life with the other part. If the dialogue was interrupted it was only because of the dark forces that used religion to divide the country, to stop a tradition of coexistence. Dialogue means creating relationships based on respect for the other and not, as some mistakenly think, to bring the other toward you. The dialogue has, and must have, the man and his future as its focus and can have it because it starts from the common point for all religions that is God.”
The flight of Iraqis would seem however to witness the failure of the dialogue…
"The figures reported of Iraqis who left the country are living testimony of the failure of the politic choices implemented. If UNHCR reports of 2.3 million Iraqi refugees abroad and the U.S. State Department of 12,000 Iraqis accepted in the United States in the last year the extent of this failure is clear. Success would be if those people had not been forced to flee, or if they had been able to go back home. Unfortunately that was not the case.”
In Europe there are now tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians. What is the importance of interreligious dialogue in a community in diaspora?
“It’s a fact that the reality of Iraqi Christians in Europe, mostly Chaldeans, can no longer be ignored. It is a reality that is suffering but alive, and this led to forms of dialogue based on our being a community in diaspora sharing experiences and problems beyond personal religious belonging. To witness the fact that dialogue and confrontation exist this evening we, Iraqi Christians living in Rome, have been invited for the dinner of the breaking of the daily fast of the holy month of Ramadan by the Iraqi Embassy chargé d'affaires, Dr. Mazin Abdulwahab Thiab, in the Iraqi Embassy in Rome and to this dinner should also participate the Iraqi Ambassador to the Holy See, Dr. Albert Yelda. It seems to me that this invitation is the best testimony of how men can and want to meet and talk because, in spite of religious belonging, we are all Iraqis in a difficult period, united by God and by the homeland to the revival and development of which we all want to contribute."
"We discussed programmes to be implemented to help these people to rebuild their lives, to intregrate in the countries they are living in now. An interesting debate because it clarified that the purpose of the integration of our community abroad is not only its bureaucratic and economic accommodation, but also the preservation of the values of tradition, liturgy, language and culture that are the precious cultural background of these people. A background that must be brought out for two reasons. The first is to make these people understand that even of they were forced to leave their homeland, their jobs, their belongings, and feel that they've lost everything and count little they are important because each of them, in his own way and to a different extent, is an integral part of our ancient history. The second is to make the countries that host them understand that their different cultural background is a source of enrichment and not of clash or misunderstanding. Integration does not mean cancellation of themselves. As the Chaldeans in Europe will learn new ways of living and facing the future, Europeans will be aware of a religious reality, the Churches of the East, that will astonish them for the depth of its Christian feelings. Another topic on the agenda focused on the liturgical reform of Missal approved by the Holy See in February 2006 and studied in depth by the Patriarchal Liturgical Commission of the Chaldean Church formed by Mgr. Sarhad P. Jammo (California), Mgr. Jacques Isaac (Baghdad) and Mgr. Petrus Yosif (France). In this regard we sent to Mgr. Jammo the request of the texts in Aramaic and of the booklets explaining the rite of Holy Mass according tradition and liturgy in Arabic and English. After receiving the material the priests will begin to study it in order to explain it to the faithful and gradually put it into practice.”
Can you make us an example of how, in application of the liturgical reform, the Chaldean rite differs from the Latin?
"There are many examples but to cite one we could talk about the priest who during the presentation of bread and wine and during the Eucharistic prayer addresses, as the faithful, his prayer to God turning his gaze to the Cross, the symbol of Christ, the Son of God.”
Will it be difficult to make the faithful used to the rite according to the new provisions?
"It will be a challenge for the priests who will guide them, but they seem ready to accept it. In any case during the meeting in Greece we created two committees. The Liturgical Committeee led by Father Paul Rabban (Sweden) and Father Isaac Roni (Greece) that will work on the matter, and will deal with the unification of the rites of sacraments such as baptism, marriage, funeral. The other is the Committee for Vocations, led by Father Sami Dinkha, former rector of the Chaldean seminary in Baghdad and by Father Firas Ghazi who has a specialization in spirituality, and that will promote and follow the vocation of the young who want to be near to God and to His church.”
So the reality of so many immigrants in Europe is also made of vocations?
"Yes. The parish in Essen, for example, in agreement with the Rector of the Chaldean seminary of Saints Peter and Paul who is now in Erbil, Fr. Bashar Warda, already sent two students who had the vocation here in Europe.”
How the Chaldean Church proceedes in the case of these vocations outside of Iraq?
"With regard to Europe if someone feels that he wants to dedicate and entrust his life to God he usually contacts his parish priest whose task is to examine his vocation and his true intentions and then to communicate them to the Latin bishop of the diocese where the church is. At that point the aspiring priest is sent to study in a Latin seminar or in the patriarchal one in the homeland.”
As Apostolic Visitor of the Chaldean Church in Europe and organizer of the meeting in Greece you certainly have a clear image of the situation of the tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians living in the Old Continent immigrated here years ago or recently fled from Iraq. What can you tell us about the different European realities?
"They are different because different are the rules concerning refugees. Sweden, for example, accepted the largest number of Iraqi refugees, Muslims and Christians, but now, just because of their high number and the new rules, there are problems such as delays in the granting of residence permits. In Greece the situation is worse because the right of residence and then to health system, education and work is not granted to refugees. The refugees are illegal and as such they are forced to live. The 2500 Iraqi Chaldean Christians in Greece, for example, depend on the church because even when and if they find a job it is always an illegal one and as such underpaid and not sufficient to live on.”
How can you comment the recent position taken by the Dutch Government that would encourage the return of many Iraqi refugees whilst ensuring special protection to members of minorities at risk as, among others, Christians?
"This is a rather delicate question that for now I would not want to comment. It will be better to wait any future developments, and in any case the church does not interfere with the decisions of governments about policies to be implemented towards refugees.”
Are there Iraqi refugees in Italy?
"Someone certainly there is, but Italy is considered only a nation of transit toward those countries where there are already some communities and that have a programme of assistance to refugees that Italy does not provide.”
At the next synod of the bishops to be held in Rome from October 5 to 26 dedicated to "the Word of God in the life and mission of the church" the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, H.B. Cardinal Mar Emmanule III Delly will be present. How important will be the testimony of a man of church who always supported the words of dialogue in a delicate situation such as that Iraq is living?
“In Iraq dialogue always existed, it was not born after or as a consequence of recent military events. The Church and the people always were protagonists of the dialogue in daily life, a life made up of churches and mosques nearby, not only physically but also in personal relationships. The importance of dialogue is obvious. It means to talk, to discuss, to understand, but above all to build life with the other part. If the dialogue was interrupted it was only because of the dark forces that used religion to divide the country, to stop a tradition of coexistence. Dialogue means creating relationships based on respect for the other and not, as some mistakenly think, to bring the other toward you. The dialogue has, and must have, the man and his future as its focus and can have it because it starts from the common point for all religions that is God.”
The flight of Iraqis would seem however to witness the failure of the dialogue…
"The figures reported of Iraqis who left the country are living testimony of the failure of the politic choices implemented. If UNHCR reports of 2.3 million Iraqi refugees abroad and the U.S. State Department of 12,000 Iraqis accepted in the United States in the last year the extent of this failure is clear. Success would be if those people had not been forced to flee, or if they had been able to go back home. Unfortunately that was not the case.”
In Europe there are now tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians. What is the importance of interreligious dialogue in a community in diaspora?
“It’s a fact that the reality of Iraqi Christians in Europe, mostly Chaldeans, can no longer be ignored. It is a reality that is suffering but alive, and this led to forms of dialogue based on our being a community in diaspora sharing experiences and problems beyond personal religious belonging. To witness the fact that dialogue and confrontation exist this evening we, Iraqi Christians living in Rome, have been invited for the dinner of the breaking of the daily fast of the holy month of Ramadan by the Iraqi Embassy chargé d'affaires, Dr. Mazin Abdulwahab Thiab, in the Iraqi Embassy in Rome and to this dinner should also participate the Iraqi Ambassador to the Holy See, Dr. Albert Yelda. It seems to me that this invitation is the best testimony of how men can and want to meet and talk because, in spite of religious belonging, we are all Iraqis in a difficult period, united by God and by the homeland to the revival and development of which we all want to contribute."
The priests present at the meeting in Greece were:
Mgr. Philip Najim (Italy)
Father Peter Patto. Monaco di Baviera (Germania)
Father Sami Dinkha. Essen (Germania)
Father Cesar Sliwa. Stoccarda (Germania)
Father Faris Toma. Danimarca
Father Suleyman Oz. Belgio
Father Samir Dawood. Svezia
Father Maher Malko. Sodertalje(Svezia)
Father Paul Rabban. Eskilstuna (Svezia)
Father Roni Isaac. Grecia
Father Firaz Ghazi. Olanda
Father Sabri Anar. Sarcelles (Francia)
Father Yousif Shamoun. Karamles (Iraq)