JANUARY 2024

CHALDEAN DIGEST
Auxiliary Bishop Richard Umbers, Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay from the Maronite Eparchy, Archbishop Amel Nona
from the Chaldean Catholic Diocese, and Bishop Daniel from the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Faiths unite for peace in the Holy Land
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher
OP has called on people of all faiths
to unite for peace at an event at St.
Mary’s Cathedral on December 6,
hosted jointly with the chair of the
Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference’s
Commission for Christian Unity
and Inter-Religious Dialogue, Bathurst
Bishop Michael McKenna.
The evening of prayer, silent reflection,
bell-tolling, candle lighting,
solemn music and scripture readings
brought together people from many
different faith traditions, united in
solidarity to lament the horrors and
heartache of wars around the world
and to pray for a just and lasting peace.
Church leaders from the Eastern
Catholic and Eastern Orthodox
churches were particularly well represented
at the event, including archbishops
and bishops from the Greek
Orthodox, Coptic, Maronite, and Chaldean
Churches.
The brutality of war can often lead
believers to question their faith in
God, but it is in these dark times, we
can indeed find peace in place of turmoil,
Archbishop Fisher said.
“Our hope is not ultimately in human
peace processes, important as
these are; it is hope in the God who
can change hearts, put forgiveness
where there is vengeance, peace in
place of turmoil, love instead of hate.”
– Catholic Weekly
Middle East Christians dwindle as anti-Christian
hate crimes rise globally, says report
Anti-Christian hate crimes are escalating
globally, says the latest
report issued by Aid to the Church
in Need UK. The study shows
that oppression or persecution of
Christians has increased in 75 percent
of the countries surveyed in
the last two years. The report also
shows that Christian numbers in
the Middle East have plummeted
over the years as they are impacted
by conflicts.
The Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) also reports that hate
crimes, including graffiti and
vandalism in places of worship,
are up as well. These included the desecration
of cemeteries and arson attacks
against churches.
Of particular concern is the plight
of Christians in the Middle East where,
Participants from world-wide Christian organizations
and churches in Strasbourg, France on
September 9, 2014. They met to discuss ways for
church groupings to tackle Christian persecution.
in several countries, once flourishing
communities risk disappearing because
of mass migration due to various
reasons, ranging from Islamic fundamentalism
to discrimination, wars
and economic woes.
PHOTO BY KIM CAIN
According to the report,
since the foundation of the
State of Israel, in 1948, the
number of Christians in the Palestinian
territories has fallen
from 18 percent to under 1 percent
of the population, due to
ongoing Israeli-Palestinian tensions
and economic difficulties.
The Catholic report said the
emigration of Iraqi Christians
continues today, despite the
military defeat of Daesh (ISIS),
due to the economic crisis, discriminations
and ongoing political
instability and insecurity, and
cites the primate of the Chaldean
Church, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako,
who says this exodus is unprecedented
and may be the end of the Christian
community in the Middle East.
– Ecumenical News
PHOTO BY PATRICK LEE/CATHOLIC WEEKLY
99 percent
of Christian
communities
live in Erbil,
Duhok, says
KRG minister
About 99 percent of the Christian
communities in the Kurdistan Region
live in Erbil and Duhok provinces,
said Kurdistan Regional
Government (KRG) minister Ano
Jawhar.
Jawhar, the KRG Minister of
Communication and Transport,
made the remarks during a presser
held at a meeting of various members
of the ethnic and religious
communities to discuss the ongoing
legal challenges by the Patriotic
Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to
the quota seats of ethno-religious
components.
Unlike the Kurds in the Kurdistan
Region, the Turkmen, Assyrians,
and Chaldean populations are
not scattered, said Jawhar, who is
a Chaldean from Ankawa. “Ninetynine
percent of Chaldean and Assyrians
reside in Duhok and Erbil
provinces,” he said.
The former head of the PUK bloc
in the Kurdistan Region in recent
months filed a lawsuit against the
“minority quota seats” in the Region’s
legislative house. Per the current
Kurdish election law, five seats
of the 111-member chamber are allocated
to Chaldean and Assyrians,
as well as another one for an Armenian
member of parliament.
The PUK has also objected to
the single-member district electoral
system, arguing the current form
has given electoral advantage to its
rival, KDP, which has refused the
allegations and expressed willingness
to work out new legislation,
so the long-delayed election is no
longer delayed.
Due to political infighting, the
Kurdistan Region parties could not
agree on amending the election
law last year, triggering the extension
of the current Kurdistan Parliament
term by a year.
– Kurdistan24
18 CHALDEAN NEWS JANUARY 2024