Chaldean Catholics: Iraqi Christians Find Refuge in Tennessee
Be the hands and feet of Christ to Iraqi Christians in need,
In a loving display of consolation and charity to a beleaguered people, the Bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle for the Chaldean in Detroit celebrated a thanksgiving Mass with Iraqi Catholic Christians at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville this weekend. According to Bishop Ibrahim, half of the 1 million prewar Christians in Iraq have fled the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim celebrates Divine Liturgy (Mass) at Sacred Heart Cathedral.
PrintNASHVILLE, TN (Catholic Online) - In a loving display of consolation and charity to a beleaguered people, the Bishop of the Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle for the Chaldean in Detroit celebrated a thanksgiving Mass with Iraqi Catholic Christians at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville, TN this past weekend. Presiding Bishop Ibrahim Ibrahim of St. Thomas the Apostle is head of the Chaldean Christians in the Eastern US.
His presence lent an air of poignant familiarity to the Mass for about 120 displaced Chaldean Christian families worshiping there, about half of which had newly arrived in Knoxville from Iraq. Differences in the liturgy, liturgical language, prayers, and devotions between the Eastern and Western Rites add to feelings of displacement and alienation from home and culture for the refugees.
Along with an additional 17 dioceses and bishops of the Eastern Rite in the US, all of which maintain full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Rite Divine Liturgy is in use among Chaldean Catholics. Having a Chaldean Bishop celebratethe Divine Liturgy (Mass) in the Eastern Rite is a distinct reminder of home for the worshipers, who were greeted with "Allah maak" ("the Lord be with you").
Prayers at the liturgy came from the Mass for Refugees and Exiles. The second reading from James 1 concluded with verse 27: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
The homilist said, "When we use terms like 'refugees' and 'exiles,' there's always a caution. 'Widows and orphans' in the Old Testament and in the New Testament were words always used together, and it didn't just mean 'widows and orphans.' It meant anyone who was vulnerable, anyone who was in need, and the people of God were always judged by God on their faithfulness to taking care of those in need."
A guest this weekend of the Bishop of Knoxville, Bishop Ibrahim also met following the Mass with members of the Chaldean community, members of the charity Iraqi Christians in Need, and Congressman John Duncan to share a fellowship meal and discuss the issues facing the Iraqi Catholic community in America.
For the members of Iraqi Christians in Need, the day with the refugees and Bishop Ibrahim served to launch the newly formed organization which seeks to educate Americans on the numbers and plight of Iraqi Christian refugees living here and offer assistance to them.
Bishop Ibrahim hopes to work with Tennessee Bishops and Iraqi Christians in Need to establish a mission for the Chaldean community there, and all over the country, especially those who have recently fled persecution in Iraq. Together they hope to offer a place of refuge where Iraqi Christians can gather safely to "worship and pray for peace and understanding in the world, so that all peoples may practice their faith in peace and security."
When asked what he considered to be the most important message to Catholic Online readers, Bishop Ibrahim stated, "All Iraqis are not Muslim. Before Islam was there [in Iraq], Christians were there." Indeed, Christianity predates Islam by several centuries.
Iraqi Christians are part of historic indigenous communities that have been in the area now known as Iraq since nearly the time of Christ, and the majority still live there. The Christian community took root in the region after the Apostle Thomas headed east in the year 35, the Apostle for whom the Chaldean Diocese in Detroit is named.
But now after nearly 2,000 years, Iraqi Christians are being hunted, murdered and forced to flee - persecuted on a biblical scale in Iraq's religious civil war. These brothers and sisters in Christ who can trace their history in the region back some 2,000 years have fled to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and to northern Iraq by the hundreds of thousands to avoid certain martyrdom.
The invasion and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that removed Saddam Hussein have created political instability and an authority vacuum that has allowed a jihadist and supremacist power insurgence to prey on Christians in their midst with increasing brutality and boldness. Rampant tribal disunity prevents unification under an Islamic government that cannot and does not protect Christians there despite the official rhetoric of freedom of religious practice.
According to Bishop Ibrahim, half of the 1 million prewar Christians in Iraq have fled the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Hundreds of thousands, including children and babies of Christian parents, have been horrifically tortured and martyred. Nonetheless, the charity of Christ was evident in Bishop Ibrahim as he carefully pointed out that while Iraqi Christians are particularly targeted, the whole population of Iraq, Muslim and Christian, suffers due to the political destabilization.
Comparing the current persecution of Christians in Iraq to German persecution of Jews in the 40's, he stated that Iraqi Christians are in such dire need because they receive no official help from the US to relocate and assimilate as the Jews did then. Instead, President Obama's support of Islamic nations emboldens militant religious resurgence and jihadist attacks against them while their pleas for protection fall on deaf ears.
They are desperate for the most basic help. Twenty other Chaldean families wanted to attend the Mass in Knoxville this weekend but were unable to find transportation. Susan Dakak of Iraqi Christians in Need said that this is one of the issues they hoped the day would highlight.
"People need to know about these Catholic refugees and see if there's any way they can help them," she said. "It's the occasional ride to church or invitation to dinner or whatever would make them feel at home-that's what we're hoping for these families."
To be the hands and feet of Christ to Iraqi Christians in need, contact the ministry here.
-----
Sonja Corbitt is a Catholic speaker, Scripture teacher and study author, and a contributing writer for Catholic Online. Visit her at www.pursuingthesummit.com.
His presence lent an air of poignant familiarity to the Mass for about 120 displaced Chaldean Christian families worshiping there, about half of which had newly arrived in Knoxville from Iraq. Differences in the liturgy, liturgical language, prayers, and devotions between the Eastern and Western Rites add to feelings of displacement and alienation from home and culture for the refugees.
Along with an additional 17 dioceses and bishops of the Eastern Rite in the US, all of which maintain full communion with the Bishop of Rome and the rest of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Rite Divine Liturgy is in use among Chaldean Catholics. Having a Chaldean Bishop celebratethe Divine Liturgy (Mass) in the Eastern Rite is a distinct reminder of home for the worshipers, who were greeted with "Allah maak" ("the Lord be with you").
Prayers at the liturgy came from the Mass for Refugees and Exiles. The second reading from James 1 concluded with verse 27: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world."
The homilist said, "When we use terms like 'refugees' and 'exiles,' there's always a caution. 'Widows and orphans' in the Old Testament and in the New Testament were words always used together, and it didn't just mean 'widows and orphans.' It meant anyone who was vulnerable, anyone who was in need, and the people of God were always judged by God on their faithfulness to taking care of those in need."
A guest this weekend of the Bishop of Knoxville, Bishop Ibrahim also met following the Mass with members of the Chaldean community, members of the charity Iraqi Christians in Need, and Congressman John Duncan to share a fellowship meal and discuss the issues facing the Iraqi Catholic community in America.
For the members of Iraqi Christians in Need, the day with the refugees and Bishop Ibrahim served to launch the newly formed organization which seeks to educate Americans on the numbers and plight of Iraqi Christian refugees living here and offer assistance to them.
Bishop Ibrahim hopes to work with Tennessee Bishops and Iraqi Christians in Need to establish a mission for the Chaldean community there, and all over the country, especially those who have recently fled persecution in Iraq. Together they hope to offer a place of refuge where Iraqi Christians can gather safely to "worship and pray for peace and understanding in the world, so that all peoples may practice their faith in peace and security."
When asked what he considered to be the most important message to Catholic Online readers, Bishop Ibrahim stated, "All Iraqis are not Muslim. Before Islam was there [in Iraq], Christians were there." Indeed, Christianity predates Islam by several centuries.
Iraqi Christians are part of historic indigenous communities that have been in the area now known as Iraq since nearly the time of Christ, and the majority still live there. The Christian community took root in the region after the Apostle Thomas headed east in the year 35, the Apostle for whom the Chaldean Diocese in Detroit is named.
But now after nearly 2,000 years, Iraqi Christians are being hunted, murdered and forced to flee - persecuted on a biblical scale in Iraq's religious civil war. These brothers and sisters in Christ who can trace their history in the region back some 2,000 years have fled to Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and to northern Iraq by the hundreds of thousands to avoid certain martyrdom.
The invasion and wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that removed Saddam Hussein have created political instability and an authority vacuum that has allowed a jihadist and supremacist power insurgence to prey on Christians in their midst with increasing brutality and boldness. Rampant tribal disunity prevents unification under an Islamic government that cannot and does not protect Christians there despite the official rhetoric of freedom of religious practice.
According to Bishop Ibrahim, half of the 1 million prewar Christians in Iraq have fled the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Hundreds of thousands, including children and babies of Christian parents, have been horrifically tortured and martyred. Nonetheless, the charity of Christ was evident in Bishop Ibrahim as he carefully pointed out that while Iraqi Christians are particularly targeted, the whole population of Iraq, Muslim and Christian, suffers due to the political destabilization.
Comparing the current persecution of Christians in Iraq to German persecution of Jews in the 40's, he stated that Iraqi Christians are in such dire need because they receive no official help from the US to relocate and assimilate as the Jews did then. Instead, President Obama's support of Islamic nations emboldens militant religious resurgence and jihadist attacks against them while their pleas for protection fall on deaf ears.
They are desperate for the most basic help. Twenty other Chaldean families wanted to attend the Mass in Knoxville this weekend but were unable to find transportation. Susan Dakak of Iraqi Christians in Need said that this is one of the issues they hoped the day would highlight.
"People need to know about these Catholic refugees and see if there's any way they can help them," she said. "It's the occasional ride to church or invitation to dinner or whatever would make them feel at home-that's what we're hoping for these families."
To be the hands and feet of Christ to Iraqi Christians in need, contact the ministry here.
-----
Sonja Corbitt is a Catholic speaker, Scripture teacher and study author, and a contributing writer for Catholic Online. Visit her at www.pursuingthesummit.com.
- - -
Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.
Keywords: Irag, chaldeans, eastern rite, catholic, persecution
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from a Russian Catholic in East Tennessee who also fellowships with the Ukrainian mission in Knoxville, let me give greetings and best wishes to you and to all Eastern Catholics in the Volunteer State
Wendy and SOS. You'r right lets take action.I'am sure the American people will support sending two or three more army divisions and air-wings into Iraq and spending the trillions to pay for it, defending Chaldean Catholics .Just kidding .
Wendy: The man's name is Cheney, not Chaney; the latter was a silent film actor, if memory serves me faithfully. I am at a loss to answer you, frankly, because I simply cannot see where you were going in the paragraph you wrote. I think I stated clearly that, like you, I do not like Mr. Bush (or Mr. Cheney, for that matter) but that I do not hate him. You, not I, brought up the subject of hate in the first place, and I was eager to correct your mistaken impression of me. If you were referring to my post to SOS, you need to read my last sentence slowly and carefully. When you do, you will see that I am putting the imputation of hatred on my part in YOUR mouth, not admitting to it myself. I have to ask, do you really read the posts you answer before doing so?
Mr. Grimes; Much to your chagrin, I never liked the younger Bush nor his VP, Chaney. To quote you: ...hated by people like me... Mr. Grimes, hatred is most definately not a Christian virtue. Christ called us to love our neighbors; to walk humbly and act justly. Yes, the war is immoral. On that point we do agree - yet, I cannot hate. I can dislike - but never hate. Hatred is evil. Hatred is distructive. Hatred is the reason our Christian brothers and sisters are being killed and tortured. Does hatred toward one individual really make everything alright? Do you feel better by hating GW Bush? Believe it or not - he is one of God's creations; as are you Mr. Grimes.
So, let me get this straight, SOS, Obama is a "worse joke than Bush?" That implies, of course, that you do agree Bush was a joke, and you openly state that Bush almost "exterminated" Christianity in Iraq. An independent observer might conclude that you agree a lot with what I have said and not much at all with Wendy's tirade. As for the "little more action," what exactly would you have an average American citizen do? How can you and Wendy be sure I haven't already done things for "our Iraqi brothers and sisters?" Of one thing you can both be certain: I never defended the actions of the man who is directly responsible for the misery of our Iraqi brothers and sisters. Can you say the same thing? (I mean 'you' in the singular, of course, since Wendy clearly thinks the Texas monster is some kind of innocent victim, hated by people like me who point out that he executed an immoral war condemned by two popes.)
Wendy, I almost posted the exact same comment. A little less talk and a little more action is what is needed from Mr. Grimes where our Iraqi brothers and sisters are concerned. Obama is a worse joke than Bush, but I do agree that Bush certainly has almost exterminated Christianity in Iraq. I hope we live and learn.
Ah, Wendy, it is pleasant to forget the past, isn't it? This is especially the case when one has regrettably put her faith in a loose cannon like Bush, and done something so terrible as to support the killing of tens of thousands of people for absolutely nothing. But as a very good American philosopher once quipped, those who forget the past are condemned to make the same mistakes in the future. So, despite your admonition, I will continue to flap my gums about that embarrassing excuse for a president and about all the people gullible enough to swallow his lies and half-truths. Who knows, after enough "cheap talk" the latter may even decide someday that the military isn't the answer to every problem after all. Oh, and I don't hate Bush, but I am appalled that a country like ours once saw fit to put such a man in high office. Nothing indicates that our democracy is an abject failure more than his presidency.
@ Mr. Grimes - I have seen too many comments concerning your absolute hatred for the former president Bush. I find this extraoridinarily disturbing. Aside from laying blame at the foot of the former president, what are you doing about this situaton now? What are you doing for the Iraqi Christians? Does our current administration even care about Chrisitans in the Middle East?
What is our current administration doing about the extermination of Iraqi Chrisitians? What are you doing right now for your brother? Flapping your gums about the past - or actually doing something to affect the future? Are you on your knees praying for our Christian Brethen in Iraqi and all over the Middle East? Talk is cheap - especially when it's past the expiration date. Actions speak volumes.
I see that I misstated above. W's fiasco in Iraq actually cost the US taxpayer 3 TRILLION, not billion, dollars (calculation of Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz). What is more, I failed to mention that Bush imposed economic and social misery on all Iraqis, not just the Christians. It isn't widely reported in this country, but Iraq's infrastructure today lies in absolute ruins thanks to its American 'liberators.' And all so that the most limited president in American history could one day don a flight suit and then make a perfect fool of himself announcing "Mission accomplished" on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. Quite a price to pay, I'd say.
Yes, one more item we can add to the list of accomplishments attributable to W Bush and his supporters. Not only have they wasted 3 billions dollars and destabilized the entire Middle East, they have also set the stage for ending 2000 years of Christian history in Iraq. What wisdom our heroic president and his legions of heroes have shown! (The attempt to sully Obama's reputation here, either by the comments of bishop Ibrahim or Ms Corbitt --it's not at all clear who was speaking-- is laughable in an article where the names of the real culprits behind this tragedy, Bush the Lesser and his right-wing supporters, never appear. It reduces an otherwise good article to cheap Republican agit-prop.)