FEBRUARY 2009

noteworthy
Courtesy of the Detroit Jewish News
lem of Christians fleeing the Middle East,
paying Christian witnesses in a predominantly
Muslim world, relations with Muslims,
the role of Christians in civil and
political life, lack of full religious freedom
and Christians’ prospects for the future.
Syrian Archbishop Basile Casmoussa
of Mosul agreed that church
leaders need to forge a concrete and
clear plan for the future.
“Otherwise we will always just
be following our parishioners, and
sooner or later we will be following
them abroad as our churches and
communities disappear from Iraq and
transfer out of the country,” he said.
Chaldeans Lend
Support to Israel
Area Chaldeans joined a pro-Israel
demonstration on January 4 in West
Bloomfield. “We all have to stand as
one right now,” Lena Dabich told the
Detroit Jewish News. “The world is
fighting against these people – not just
Jews. We have to support each other.”
The event was in reaction to an anti-Israel
protest the day before by Palestinian
supporters of the Gaza conflict.
Wear It with Pride
A new bracelet lets people show their
support of the Adopt-A-Refugee Family
program.
The blue plastic bracelet gives the
website for the Chaldean Federation
of America charity – www.adoptarefugeefamily.org.
The bracelets are being sold on a
donation basis at the CFA and at community
events.
Al Zara is co-owner of Ink Apparel,
which donated the bracelets. “We
chose blue because it’s similar to the
color of the CFA logo,” he said. “We
want people to see the bracelet and
know right away that that is a person
who supports the Adopt-A-Refugee
program.”
The company manufactured 1,000
bracelets and hopes to make more as
demand warrants.
More Money Raised
for Refugees
More than 2,900 refugees were assisted
in January by the Adopt-A-Refugee
Family program from the Chaldean
Federation of America. More than
$45,000 was sent overseas in January.
To date, $665,000 has been raised
by the program, which supplies funds
directly to Iraqi refugee families. Learn
more at www.adoptarefugee.org, or
call (248) 851-3023.
Iraqi Bishops
Seek Synod
Iraqi Catholic bishops called on Pope
Benedict XVI to convene a synod to
address the mass exodus of Christians
from the Middle East and the lack of full
religious freedom there, Catholic News
Service reports.
The Bishops, in Rome for their “ad
limina” visits to report on the status of
their dioceses, spoke during a January
22 press conference at Vatican Radio.
Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako of
Kirkuk said a general synod dedicated
to the challenges Christians face in
the Middle East would help the church
Chaldeans
show solidarity
with their
Jewish
neighbors.
forge a clear plan of action for the present
and future.
“We can’t do anything by ourselves
that would be as well-researched, -prepared
and -analyzed” as it would be
during a two- or three-week synod, he
said. “We have no vision [so] a general
synod would help us — all the Bishops
— to better see and study [the issues]
together with the help of experts and
the Holy See.”
A synod also would help the Bishops
come up with ways to tackle those
problems and prepare for the future, he
added.
“If there is no clear position or vision
then Christians will no longer be present
in the Middle East. Slowly they will leave
this land that we call blessed but is now
damned,” Archbishop Sako said.
He said topics of top priority for a
potential synod would include the prob-
Christian
Killed in Mosul
The Christian owner of a car repair
shop was killed execution-style in Mosul,
police said on January 17, raising
concern about the possibility of new
attacks against the religious minority in
the northern Iraqi city.
The body of the 36-year-old man
who was shot in the head was found
on January 15, according to police and
hospital officials, speaking to the Associated
Press on condition of anonymity
because they were not authorized to
talk to the media.
Another Christian man, an engineer
in the city’s water department, was
kidnapped in early January but was
released four days later after his family
paid a $50,000 ransom.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the
killing or the kidnapping, but they followed
a pattern of violence and intimidation that
sent thousands of Christians fleeing from
their homes in Mosul in the fall.
Bassem Balu, an official with
the Democratic Assyrian Movement,
sought to maintain calm, saying the
motives for this week’s killing were not
yet known. The movement is the largest
Christian party.
“For the time being, I do not think that
this will slow the return of the Christians
to Mosul,” he said. “I hope that this murder
won’t signal the start of a new campaign
against the Christians in Mosul.”
Some Mosul residents have filtered
back since the fall exodus, but others remain
with relatives in the safer countryside
or have sought refuge in neighboring
Syria despite government pledges of
financial support and protection.
Reflecting the continued fear, Christian
candidates running for the January
31 provincial elections have not been
campaigning in Mosul but were limiting
their activities to Christian areas outside
the city.
12 CHALDEAN NEWS FEBRUARY 2009