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Bishops of the Chaldean 2021
Synod gathered in the patriarchal headquarters in Al-Mansour, Baghdad on
Monday, August 9, 2021, to start with reciting morning prayers followed by
celebrating the daily mass. At ten o’clock The opening session started with short
prayer. Afterward, His Beatitude Patriarch Louis Raphael Card. Sako reviewed
the Synod agenda and related letters received by the Patriarchate, followed by
Patriarch Sako’s address after which the discussion continued throughout the
morning.
Below is the Address of Patriarch
Sako
Dear Brothers
“Grace and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. (Romans 1/7).
I am pleased to greet you all
while convening our regular annual Synod in Baghdad, after 2020 break, imposed
on by COVID-19 pandemic.
I am confident that this Synod
will instill hope in the hearts of faithful; raise their spirits in the midst
of their worries; reduce their suffering and grief; and respond to their
wishes.
It is my pleasure to point out the
importance of Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq, as a “momentous” in our modern
history that opened Iraq to the whole world. Moreover, Pope Francis’ messages
and meetings during this visit gave peace and harmonious coexistence an
opportunity that we should not miss. As for the Church, the historic moment was
when the Pope celebrated the mass according to our Chaldean rite in St. Joseph
Cathedral in Baghdad, and said to me: “What a beautiful prayer”. This
celebration reflects the importance of the Eastern Churches among other Universal
Churches, especially when His Holiness added in his homily: “You are a living
and strong Church”. This by itself should motivate us to renew our spiritual
ecclesiastical, humanitarian and national commitments. In addition to the
treasured Sunday mass with an estimated 10,000 people (including Government
officials and faithful from different Churches and religions) at Faranso Hariri
stadium in Erbil.
As we are experiencing uncertainty and
social as well as political instability in Iraq and other countries where we
work, it is crucial for us to walk together in full communion as the synod word
means. In terms of being close to people, to welcome them, listen to them, and
serve them, on daily basis with the love and humility of Jesus Christ. We are
pastors, fathers and brothers, so we must respond to their questions and needs
with honesty, clarity and respect, in a way that our answers should be
appropriate to make faithful sense that we are carrying the light of Christ to
them, rather than having “old ready answers” that do not match their
aspirations. We, as bishops, are called by virtue of our position and
dedication to read the signs of the times; to reflect a true evangelical
experience; and to continue with enthusiasm our service at spiritual, pastoral
and educational levels. This can only be done by strengthening a close
“personal relationship” with The One who called us and sent us to this mission.
Renewal and reforms. I would like to
highlight the necessity of this issue by encouraging our priests, consecrated
persons and faithful to renew their thoughts, spirituality and openness to the
world. However, the power of faith and prayers will strengthen our solidarity,
taking us to a more spacious spaces of hope that enable us to overcome such difficult
circumstances.
Clergy formation. one of our priorities is
to have a comprehensive and solid priestly formation, which will enable them to
perform their pastoral mission appropriately, and to be a role model of a firm
commitment to the Gospel so as to serve their community with humility,
simplicity and honesty. On the other hand, I would like to point out here, the
importance of dealing graciously with our priests in accordance with the
evangelical love. Isn’t sad to hear in public about misunderstanding between
priests and bishops?
Selection of new bishops. we must emphasize
that the candidate should have the required qualities that applies to the laws
of the Catholic Church and the Code of Canons of the Oriental Catholic Churches
(C. 180-189) in addition to the instructions issued by the congregation of
Bishops that have been sent to you. These spiritual, cultural, pastoral and
administrative standards are required for the bishop to be a leader in his
diocese, able to make appropriate decisions that contribute to the progress and
prosperity of his diocese at all levels.
Renew the Liturgy and catechism. Social
media and Corona pandemic have imposed a new reality on humanity: a new vision,
a new thought, a new logic, a new sensitivity and a new approach. As a result,
the percentage of those who are practicing religious celebrations as well as
participating in catechism has declined. Yet, the other obstacle is related to
our current rituals that can be traced back to more than a thousand years, some
of which were “born” in a Christological controversy’s environment. Sometimes
the content, the language and the style of performance are not related to the
sensitivity and circumstances of our time. Therefore, it is illogical to hold
onto these rituals literally, mainly when we face questions such as: what is
our vision for the future? what is our strategy? There must be cultural
“exchange”, and the Church should adopt the process of “refining and renewal”
to nurture faithful in their daily lives and enrich them spiritually, away from
boredom, repetition, and based on the fact that rituals are made for them, as
stated by St. John Chrysostom (died 9/14/2007), and it is a mean rather than a
target. We have to think about the Chaldean youth and those who were born in
the Western countries, knowing very little “almost nothing” about these rituals
and have no tendency to “pray” it because it doesn’t fit (match) their present,
language, logic and culture. Translation is not enough, no matter how accurate it
could be. Rituals should be renewed and evolved with the change of time and
place. Faithful must be educated and made aware of the importance of rituals,
their meanings and symbols in order to participate in their performance. This
also applies to “Christian education / Catechism” curricula and the way or
method of teaching it. At the same time, this calls us to be patient and wise
throughout the process of forming, especially toward those who oppose renewal
and feel comfortable with the old rituals and teachings.
The situation of Christians in most of our
countries the situation must be read carefully and deeply, but not
stereotypically or superficially, especially when is related to those who are
subjected to pressure as well as to increasing immigration that reduces their
number. Hence, the Church should not play a partisan political role, but rather
work, with apostolic responsible courage, to enlighten consciences on issues of
peace, social justice, citizenship and immigration due to future uncertainty
and climate changes. The mission of the Churches is also to be the required
voice in sowing the seeds of fraternity, love, peace, security, solidarity,
cooperation with joy in addition to call for justice. I have tried, since I
assumed responsibility, for the Church to be present in the life of Iraqi
society, as well as in international and ecclesiastical forums. It is of great
importance to strengthen the presence of our Chaldean Church in Iraq, here its
future because of the land, language, history and heritage…
Finally, I hope that this Synod
clarifies the way in serving our communities with impartiality and wisdom.
Also, to be a ground of hope, action, commitment and persistence, considering
the martyrs of our Church and the pain she carries in her body along the
history, which is the power of Resurrection as happened to Jesus Christ after
His Passion.
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