OCTOBER 2023

CHALDEAN DIGEST
In this Sunday, April 14, 2019, file photo, Cardinal Louis Raphael I Sako addresses the faithful during the Palm Sunday
service at Mar Youssif Church in Baghdad, Iraq.
Cardinal seeks Vatican support to
regain recognition in Iraq
Iraq’s Chaldean Catholic Cardinal
Louis Sako said he would like more
Vatican support as he tries to regain
formal recognition as the Chaldean
patriarch in the country. As reported
in an earlier edition of the Chaldean
News, Iraqi President Abdul Latif
Rashid revoked Cardinal Sako’s decree
as head of the Chaldean Catholic
Church in Iraq in July. This action has
been viewed as a usurpation of the
clergyman’s position as the officially
recognized head of Iraq’s Catholic
Chaldean Church as well of his position
and powers to administer the
Chaldean religious endowment, including
church properties.
Both the Cardinal and media in
Iraq say the action was likely instigated
by Rayan al-Kildani, a leader of
a nominally Chaldean Catholic militia
Sterling Heights family speaks out about tragic fatal
accident and road to recovery moving forward
in Iraq, the Babylon Brigades, closely
tied to Iran. Its political wing holds
four seats in parliament out of five reserved
for Christian candidates.
“I want the Vatican also to take a
strong position,” Cardinal Sako remarked
on an online press conference
September 19, referring to the fact that
al-Kildani posted a photo of himself
with the Pope on social media, intending
to show they are aligned.
“There was a very brief note to
say that the pope did not see him privately,”
Cardinal Sako commented,
referring to a mid-September communique
to journalists, in which Matteo
Bruni, Vatican’s spokesman, is quoted
as responding to journalists’ questions
that, “His Holiness Pope Francis
greeted some of the people present, as
is customary” during the September 6
Faith Gumma was killed on August 12
in Sterling Heights when the car she
was in with her family was struck by
a teen driver fleeing police. Her son,
Elijah, survived largely unscathed but
her husband Norman has been in intensive
care ever since.
Patrick Rabban is Norman Gumma’s
cousin. He remembers receiving
the call in August when Norman’s dad
called him with the news. “He called
me crying and he said, uh, he said,
‘Norman and Faith got into an accident.
Faith is gone.’”
Patrick and Norman are the same
age and the two of them grew up together.
Patrick says life has not been
easy for Norman. “He’s making progress,”
said Patrick, referring to Norman’s
recovery in the hospital. “I
mean, that’s really all you can ask. He
continues to trend in the right direction.
Little by little, he’s getting stronger
every day,” said Rabban.
The family recently got the good
news Norman had been accepted at the
audience. “Among them was a group
of Iraqis, which included Mr. Rayan Al-
Kildani, with whom some brief words
were exchanged.”
Analyst Michael Knights of the
Washington Institute for Near East
Policy commended the Vatican for not
falling into a trap al-Kildani tried to
make with his photo op with the pope.
“It was important to see the way
the Vatican responded. They put out
the press release in English, Arabic and
Italian. They made sure that they covered
all their bases because they don’t
want al-Kildani to claim that he has
been given an audience with the pope
knowing who he is,” Knights said.
For Cardinal Sako, the situation
has made him worried. “I’m ready to
resign,” he said.
– OSV News
Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital
in Grand Rapids. “You know it’s going
to be a long road back, for sure, based
on the pace that we’ve seen. But we feel
confident once we get him to this rehab
facility that progress will start accelerating
faster and he’ll start making some
better progress,” said Rabban.
The community is supporting this
family as much as possible. The Go-
FundMe started on their behalf has
reached nearly $280,000.
– WXYZ Detroit
Songwriter and
poet Tamara
Mechael talks
about her career
in the arts
First generation Assyrian-Chaldean
songwriter and poet Tamara Mechael
talks about what it’s like being a faithful
Catholic in an industry that likes to
take the easy way. She was born in Detroit,
but Mechael was not cut out to be
a mechanic or work in science like her
highly educated parents. Tamara and
her sister Farrah were born to be artists.
Mechael is a songwriter and poet
Songwriter, author and poet Tamara
Mechael.
who had her first book of poetry published
at 15. With her mom and her
sister, she created an independent record
label. FanBoyNation spoke with
Mechael about what it is like being a
first generation American, remaining
true to her faith and maybe one day
turning some of her father’s Arabic
and Aramaic poems into songs for her
and her sister to sing.
As well as being a published author,
Tamara is an accomplished songwriter
whose songs have been performed at
events such as Los Angeles KIIS FM’s
Wango Tango and Detroit’s 107.5 Summer
Jamz. She has worked with international
producers and songwriters,
culminating in a sixteen-city United
States’ tour where she showcased her
first book, “Utopia Poetry.”
Tamara honors her Middle Eastern
heritage by incorporating its language,
sound, energy, and values into
her writings. For more information on
Tamara, visit her official website at
www.tamaramechael.com
– FanBoyNation
16 CHALDEAN NEWS OCTOBER 2023