April 25, 2018
During his Sunday sermon at Saint Paul Chaldean Church in Vancouver, B.C. (Canada), on April 22, 2018, Bishop Bawai Soro after thanking the present and former pastors Fr. Sabah Kamora and Fr. Sarmad Billoues for their service, he also thanked Fr. Ayoob Shawkat Adwar for his service for this Parish, in Vancouver.
During his Sunday sermon at Saint Paul Chaldean Church in Vancouver, B.C. (Canada), on April 22, 2018, Bishop Bawai Soro after thanking the present and former pastors Fr. Sabah Kamora and Fr. Sarmad Billoues for their service, he also thanked Fr. Ayoob Shawkat Adwar for his service for this Parish, in Vancouver.
When Bishop Soro offered his gratitude
to Fr. Ayoob, he was under the impression that when Fr. Ayoob served in
Vancouver he had, though for a short time, some kind of canonical
mandate, namely, he was ministering with the permission of a Local
Chaldean Eparch. After the Mass had ended, Bishop Soro has come to
know about the illegal status of Fr. Ayoob at that time, that he was
never permitted by any bishop in Canada to celebrate any Mass. Despite
that reality Fr. Ayoob knowingly and willingly violated church canons by
celebrating masses there, thus misguided the faithful of Saint
Paul’s Parish, ultimately causing a division in the community and many
doubts among the faithful.
These facts have made Bishop Soro
rethink his statement about Fr. Ayoob and has clarified the issue
with the following three points:
1) Bishop
Bawai Soro retracts the “statement of gratitude to Fr. Ayoob for his
service in Vancouver”. The Bishop’s intention was never to undermine the
church canons or minimize the legitimacy of the former and the present
pastors of Saint Paul’s Parish. Additionally, he never wanted to
validate a wrong act with a gesture of gratitude. Therefore, instead of
gratitude, Bishop Soro offers Fr. Ayoob sincere prayers so that he will
become an instrument of healing not a cause for division.
2) As
Eparch of the Diocese, Bishop Bawai Soro asks all the faithful in
Vancouver to continuously partake in the Masses and activities of their
own St. Paul Parish. He also asks the faithful not to attend any
service held by Fr. Ayoob, because Chaldean Catholic faithful must
worship at Chaldean Catholic services conducted by Chaldean Catholic
priests in good standing with their eparchial bishop, who himself is in
communion with His Beatitude, Patriarch Mar Louis Sako and His
Holiness, Pope Francis. This rule especially applies to those Chaldean
individuals whom the church has granted special honor to exercise lay
ministries, like liturgical servers (Shamashe), members of the church
choir and the parish council. If any of these “honored” faithful
knowingly participated in such masses or services outside their
parishes, their status shall be revoked and particular duty or role in
the church will be withdrawn from them, yet, without depriving them of
receiving church sacraments or services.
3) The
Chaldean Church in Canada is very much committed to her ancient
celebration of the memorial of her Saints and Martyrs. However, these
memorials and celebrations must only be celebrated by the parishes of
Mar Addai Eparchy in Canada. In the case of our community in Vancouver,
no group of people, village or tribe members are encouraged to
celebrate these memorials without first obtaining the permission of the
pastor of St. Paul’s Parish. Bishop Bawai Soro asks the faithful not to
participate in any memorial of our saints outside the official mandate
of Saint Paul Parish.
Office of the Chaldean Bishop of Canada
Office of the Chaldean Bishop of Canada
Baghdadhope
Uno dei monaci allontanati dalla chiesa caldea passa alla chiesa anglicana del Canada 21 marzo 2017
بطريركية بابل للكلدان
بيان حول انضمام أيوب شوكت إلى الكنيسة الأنغليكانية
بيان حول انضمام أيوب شوكت إلى الكنيسة الأنغليكانية
2017 20 مارس