Source: SIR
“The proposal of a Synod for the Christians in the Middle East was submitted to the Episcopal Synod. Now, we will have to wait. As far as I know, it has been well received even by many prelates of the region”. This was stated to SIR by mgr. Louis Sako, archbishop of Kirkuk, the author of the proposed submitted to Benedict XVI in the recent visit ad limina of the Chaldean bishops. “The synod might help open an Arab pastoral, that would be shared by all the Churches of the Middle East. To do this, we have first and foremost to change the vocabulary, making it more open, simple and understandable both by our devotees and by the Muslims we are called to dialogue with. We have to urgently make them understand that we are no polytheists or infidels, we need new ways to speak with the Muslim world and give continuity to the Christian presence. There is a testimony to be given even today, we cannot stay here, confined in a ghetto”. To convey this message, according to mgr. Sako, “it might help to go back to the Arab language, as many Christian theologians did in the Middle Ages to explain the Christian doctrine. This can help our Churches that use the Chaldean, the Syriac, the Aramaic languages”. “The Protestant cults that have been spreading, not just lately but since the time of the embargo, in Iraq – he concludes – use a language that is easy to understand, and that’s partly why people follow them”.
