Patriarch of Chaldeans Appeals for Help

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Patriarch of Chaldeans Appeals for Help
Christians are forcibly displaced and killed in front of Officials’ eye-ball

Saint Amanouel the third Dali the Patriarch of the Chaldean Church called upon the Iraqi government and the officials to protect the Christians from the emigration, displacement and intimidation they are exposed to in Iraq. This announcement came in a remarkable sermon delivered in a mass held in Saint Qardagh Church in Erbil. “We have seen recently that we are banished from our homes and migrated by force from our houses and our country. We are also sent away from our brothers with whom we had been living” he added. He expressed deeply the suffering and concern of the Christian denomination in Iraq. He said: ‘I send a yell in the name of all the Christians to the officials and to all those who are capable of prevailing peace and stability among the Iraqi citizens to live peacefully on earth according to the Lord’s will.

We have accomplished our duties and will do so and we seek all our rights. I call upon everybody to convey our yell to the officials. I call upon this in your name, the attendants and the absentees. For what we have recently been exposed to in this country will not please the Lord and will not conciliate members of one family.

In a call to treat Christians and Moslems equally, he reminds the officials; “You the officials remember that we are brothers in this country. We are citizens in this country as you are. I, therefore, request you to do your best to make your Christian brothers happy in this difficult time”.

Afterwards, he holds the Iraqi government liable for whatever is happening to the Christian;” You the officials, I hold you liable to the Lord and to the international community “.

Disagreement with the Occupant’s deeds

As regards the Americans’ behaviors, he addressed the officials; “Persecution did not come from you only, officials, but also from outside”. “Those who occupied our country abused the dignity of all Iraqis. They entered the mosques and churches and recently seized the cultural institutions, churches, colleges, etc. from us. This is how they came to help us!! This is in reference to Babylon College for Philosophy and all the churches attached to it which have been occupied by the American Forces and were made camps in Baghdad. They came without our consent and we are not pleased of what they are doing. We therefore, tell them “Lord is not happy for what you have been doing “.

Call for Optimism

In an attempt to raise the morals of the Christian People in Iraq, the Patriarch called for hope and overcoming hopelessness and said: “We are for the Doom’s day; we therefore, should be optimistic and not pessimistic. After such gloomy clouds there will be a clear sky. “Lovely believers” don’t be afraid, for the Lord is with us; the Lord remembers us and the Lord loves us even in the worst times. A pleasant day is waiting for us. We hope that the officials will undertake their responsibilities and will protect us and the Lord will guide occupants who abused the Iraqis’ rights with no exception”, he added.

He concluded his speech by a call for prayer for all Iraqis, “Let’s pray for each other for we are all brothers, sons of Mesopotamia, members of one family, Lord is our father, and we have to forgive each other and do good in order to obtain good.