(Fr Halemba holds the finalised contract for the reconstruction of 12,000 homes in Iraq signed by the representatives of the three Christian churches in Iraq © Aid to the Church in Need)
ishtartv.com - ACN New
By
Daniele Piccini, 31/3/2017
•
The Syriac Catholic Bishop, the Chaldean Catholic Bishop and two Syriac
Orthodox bishops signed an agreement in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, to help Christians
rebuild their homes, destroyed by ISIS in 2014.
Erbil
(Iraqi Kurdistan): The idea can no longer be shrugged off as a mere pipe dream
– the hope of the thousands of Iraqi Christians who were evicted from their
villages three years ago by the criminal incursions of Islamic State (ISIS) –
that they might one day be able to return to their homes on the Plains of
Nineveh. With the March 27th signing ceremony in the offices of the archdiocese
of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Erbil, an agreement was reached between
three Christian churches in Iraq – the Syriac Catholic Church, the Syriac
Orthodox Church and the Chaldean Catholic Church - formally establishing the
Nineveh Reconstruction Committee (NRC) tasked with planning and supervising a
programme of rebuilding the Christians houses. The Committee is composed of six
members chosen from the above three churches (two representatives each) and of
three external experts suggested by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in
Need (ACN), which will concern itself with advocacy and fundraising.
A
professional assessment completed by ACN has calculated that more than 12,000
homes need to be rebuilt – those that were burnt, destroyed or partially
damaged by ISIS – and that the cost of this operation will be in excess of 200
million Euros. The funds gathered will be allocated to each Church in
proportion to the number of damaged houses within their own faith community as
calculated by the assessment.
After
the signing ceremony, Monsignor Timothaeus Mosa Alshamany, Archbishop of the
Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch and prior of the Monastery of Saint Matthew,
underlined the initiative’s double historical importance – on the one hand the
ecumenical spirit that made this possible and on the other the real possibility
for thousands of Christians to return to their ancestral roots and to a life in
dignity. “Today”, he said, “we are truly a united Church – Syriac Orthodox,
Chaldean and Syriac Catholic – united in the work of rebuilding these houses on
the Nineveh Plains and in restoring hope to the hearts of the inhabitants of
these villages and inviting those who have left them to return.” The archbishop
then went on to thank for the important role of ACN in developing this
initiative: “We would like to thank ACN, which has helped us so much in the
past, by providing help and food. Now this charity is playing a crucial role in
the rebuilding of our houses.”
The
fact that this principle of unity and of speaking with “one voice” has
prevailed is a source of great satisfaction for Fr Andrzej Halemba, responsible
for the charity’s Middle East section. ACN will closely follow the committee’s
work, though solely in the start-up phase. In subsequent phases ACN will limit
itself to seeking the possible sources of funding, above all from among major
international benefactors. “What we have done to support this initiative”, said
Fr Halemba, visibly gratified at the signing of the accord, “we have not done
for money. We have done it to ensure that the Christians can remain in Iraq. We
are working for God.”
(Fr
Halemba holds the finalised contract for the reconstruction of 12,000 homes in
Iraq signed by the representatives of the three Christian churches in Iraq ©
Aid to the Church in Need)
Speaking
about unity between the Christian churches, Syriac Catholic Archbishop Yohanna
Petros Mouche of Mosul also emphasised: “I would like to invite the Christians
of the Nineveh Plains to return to their homes and resume living in their
villages, in order to bear witness to Christianity. Today we join together to
demonstrate that we are united in our wish to accelerate this operation as
rapidly as possible, and that it must start as soon as possible.”
The
courage of the three Christian churches in taking this step responds to the
courage of the Christians who have decided to stay on in Iraq. This was
expressed by Chaldean Catholic Bishop Mikha Pola Maqdassi of Alqosh who stated:
“Today we have given our agreement to the rebuilding of the houses in our
ruined villages. This is a brave step forward which gives us great joy and
encourages the Christians to remain in their villages and in their own
country”.
Syriac
Orthodox Metropolitan Nicodemus Daoud Matti Sharaf of Mosul, Kirkuk and
Kurdistan addressed an appeal to all international benefactors: “We are the
roots of Christianity. We must remain in our country. We must remain as
witnesses to Jesus Christ in this country, in Iraq and especially in the Plains
of Nineveh. This task of rebuilding all the houses in those villages where ISIS
has destroyed everything is truly an enormous challenge. Thank you in advance
to all those who will help us.”
Editor’s
Notes
Directly
under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever
they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity –
helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.
The
charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing
transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings,
funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the
initiative’s launch in 1979, Aid to the Church in Need’s Child’s Bible – God
Speaks to his Children has been translated into 172 languages and 50 million
copies have been distributed all over the world.
While
ACN gives full permission for the media to freely make use of the charity’s
press releases, please acknowledge ACN as the source of stories when using the
material.
For
more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in
Need, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail:
info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 7246 Baulkham
Hills NSW 2153.
On
Line donations can be made at www.aidtochurch.org
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