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IRAQ: THE PERSECUTION OF MANDAEANS

Chaldeans / Assyrians

The Chaldeans in Iraq were converted to Christianity by St. Thomas the Apostle.

 The church is linked to the former Nestorian Church in Iraq, but split from the Nestorians some 450 years ago.

The Chaldeans reunited with Rome in the 5th century and Pope Eugene IV issued a declaration that said all converted Nestorians would henceforth be known as Chaldeans.

The Chaldeans to this day are considered part of the Roman Catholic Church. The Chaldean Church is semi-autonomous, meaning it is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, yet retains its own customs, rites, and traditions. The head of the church is based in Baghdad.

The Chaldean population is mainly found in Irbil, Kirkuk, and Mosul. Chaldeans are also found in Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and the United States. 

Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org

Chaldean Catholic Church have broken a politically inspired deadlock

Bishops of the Baghdad-based Chaldean Catholic Church have broken a politically inspired deadlock of four months with the surprise election of a Rome-educated prelate as their new patriarch, the Vatican announced - Briefly noted - 

Christian Century, Dec 27, 2003 - Bishops of the Baghdad-based Chaldean Catholic Church have broken a politically inspired deadlock of four months with the surprise election of a Rome-educated prelate as their new patriarch, the Vatican announced - Briefly noted - Brief Article
Christian Century, Dec 27, 2003 

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* Bishops of the Baghdad-based Chaldean Catholic Church have broken a politically inspired deadlock of four months with the surprise election of a Rome-educated prelate as their new patriarch, the Vatican announced. Pope John Patti II urged them to build "a stable and free society" in Iraq. The bishops on December 3 chose Archbishop Emmanuel Delly, 76, to succeed Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid, who died July 7 after a long illness at age 81. He will be known as Emmanuel III Delly, patriach of Babylon of the Chaldeans. The church, which uses an Eastern rite similar to that of Orthodox churches, has some 1.5 million members in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, Canada and the U.S., including 65,000 in Michigan.



http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1058/is_26_120/ai_112131096 

Elevated:  the "sui iuris" Metropolitan Church of the Syro-Malankars to the rank of Major Archiepiscopal Church

VATICAN CITY, FEB 10, 2005 (VIS) - The Holy Father elevated the "sui iuris" Metropolitan Church of the Syro-Malankars to the rank of Major Archiepiscopal Church, and he promoted Metropolitan Archbishop Cyril Mar Baselios Malancharuvil O.I.C. of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars, India, to the dignity of major archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars. The new metropolitan archbishop was born in Ullannor, India, in 1935, and ordained a priest in 1960. He was ordained a bishop in 1978 and appointed as metropolitan archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars in 1995. The Syro-Malankara Church has around 450,000 faithful divided in five eparchies and served by 632 priests, of whom 511 are eparchial and 121 religious. A total of 643 seminarians study in five seminaries, and there are over 2,030 female religious in 17 communities The Church also has 22 ecclesiastical institutions, 449 educational centers (schools, universities, etc.), and 466 charitable institutes.
           

Syrian Catholic archbishop kidnapped in northern Iraq is freed; no ransom paid
January 18, 2005, EST.

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) - A Catholic archbishop kidnapped in northern Iraq was freed Tuesday after one day in captivity and said his abductors did not intend to target the church.

No ransom was paid to win the release of Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66, of the Syrian Catholic Church, a branch of the Roman Catholic Church, the church said.

Casmoussa, an Iraqi, lives in the northern city of Mosul.

"I'm happy to have returned to the bishop's office," Casmoussa told Vatican Radio. "I can say that I wasn't mistreated.

"I think that my kidnapping was a coincidence. It doesn't seem to me that they wanted to strike at the church per se."

The Vatican, which branded the kidnapping a "despicable terrorist act," said a $244,000 ransom was demanded. But Potris Moshi, an assistant to Casmoussa, said it had not been paid.

"He has been freed and he is on his way home without paying any ransom," Moshi said Tuesday when announcing the archbishop's release.

Pope John Paul, who had prayed for Casmoussa's release, was informed immediately of the release, said papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.

"He changed his prayer to one of thanks," Navarro-Valls said.

Story Here

SYRIAN CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP ABDUCTED IN IRAQ
Abduction Came On A Day Of Violence Across Iraq

By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

MOSUL, IRAQ (ANS) - January 17/05- A Catholic archbishop in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul has been kidnapped by insurgents, the Vatican says. Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66, was abducted from outside his church in the city, according to news agency reports. (Pictured: Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa),

The Vatican said in a statement that it deplored "in the firmest way such a terrorist act," and asked that the archbishop be freed immediately.

There have been a number of attacks on Iraq's Christian minority. Two churches were bombed in Mosul in December.

IRAQI CHRISTIANS' LONG HISTORY

Archbishop Casmoussa, who was appointed leader of the city's Syrian Catholic community six years ago, was seized by gunmen at about 1700 local time (1400 GMT) as he was about to enter his car, a local priest told the AFP (Agence-France Presse) news agency.

The kidnappers forced him into the trunk of their vehicle before speeding away, he said.

Christians make up some 3 percent of Iraq's population of about 25 million.
The Syrian Catholic church belongs to the Eastern rite of Catholicism. It is one of a number of semi-autonomous Catholic churches in the Middle East, which pledge allegiance to the Pope in Rome but enjoy a degree of independence in their religious rites.

Although there have been a number of attacks on Christian targets, Iraqi security forces have been the focus attacks by mainly Sunni Muslim insurgents trying to derail the election.

Turkishpress.Com citing AFP said gunmen kidnapped the Catholic archbishop in Iraq's main northern city of Mosul in what the Vatican condemned as a "terrorist act" as persistent violence dogged the run-up to landmark January 30 elections.

Archbishop Casmoussa, leader of Mosul's Syrian Catholic community, was seized by gunmen at around 5 pm (1400 GMT) as he was about to enter his car, local priest Father Faraj told AFP.

The kidnappers then tossed him into the trunk of their vehicle before speeding away, said the priest, who follows the rival Chaldean rite.

The Chaldean patriarch in Baghdad, Emmanuel Delly, said Casmoussa "was abducted outside his home as he was returning from a pastoral visit in the diocese of Mosul.”

"He was abducted and taken off in a car. We don't know who took him, nor the reason why," Delly told the missionary news agency Misna by telephone.

"We gave the news to the Vatican and now we are doing everything possible to trace him and we hope we can save him."

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls said the Holy See "condemns in the firmest manner this terrorist act and demands that Monsignor Casmoussa be rapidly returned safe and well to his ministry."

The motive of the abduction was not immediately clear but it came amid mounting sectarian violence in the run-up to this month's election. The home of the Chaldean patriarch was attacked late last year prompting condemnation from Pope John Paul II.

In Baghdad, a spokesman for one of the main Christian political parties suggested the abduction might be an attempt to intimidate the community into staying at home on polling day.

"It could be an attack on Christians who are willing to participate in the elections," said Assyrian Democratic Movement spokesman William Warda.

Reuters said the Iraqi Catholic archbishop of Mosul was kidnapped Monday in what the Vatican called an "act of terrorism."

Archbishop Casmoussa was believed to be the highest-ranking Catholic prelate to be abducted in Iraq, where the local church has been the target of a bombing campaign which has rattled the tiny Christian minority.

"We have received news of the kidnapping of the…Archbishop of Mosul, Basile Georges Casmoussa," Chief Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls told Reuters. He gave no details of the abduction.

"The Holy See deplores this act of terrorism in the firmest manner and demands that the worthy pastor is swiftly freed unharmed to continue to carry out his ministry," he said.

Christians make up some 3 percent of Iraq's population of about 25 million and have traditionally kept a relatively low profile, mindful of their precarious position in an overwhelmingly Muslim society.

A spate of bombs have hit churches and hospitals in the past few months, leaving numerous dead and injured.

Iraq's 650,000 Christians are mostly Chaldeans, Assyrians and Catholics. Many have left Iraq and the Vatican fears more will go.

Last month the Vatican's foreign minister warned that anti-Christian feeling was spreading in Iraq and other Muslim countries because the war on terrorism was seen as linked to Western political strategy.

Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican's second-ranking diplomat, said anti-Christian feeling existed where political strategies of Western countries were believed to be driven by Christianity.

Pope John Paul strongly opposed the invasion of Iraq by US and Coalition forces.

Casmoussa is a member of the Syrian Catholic church, an ancient rite present mostly in the Middle East. There are two Syrian Catholic dioceses in Iraq -- one in Baghdad and the other in Mosul.

According to the Vatican yearbook, Casmoussa was born in the Iraqi city of Qaraqosh.

The Associated Press (AP) reported: "The Holy See deplores in the firmest way such a terrorist act," a Vatican statement said, demanding that he be freed immediately.

A priest in Iraq said on condition of anonymity that the archbishop was walking in front of the Al-Bishara church in Mosul's eastern neighborhood of Muhandeseen when gunmen forced him into a car and drove away.

Mosul is a northern Iraqi city that in recent months has been a hotspot of violent insurgency.

The reason for the kidnapping was unclear, but Christians -- tens of thousands of whom live in and around Mosul -- have been subjected to attacks in the past.

Christians make up just 3 percent of Iraq's 26 million people. The major Christian groups in Iraq include Chaldean-Assyrians and Armenians. There are small numbers of Roman Catholics.

Cathnews.Com reports that Dr Joaquin Navarro Valls, Vatican press spokesman, has condemned the abduction as "an act of terrorism" according to the news reports.

Archbishop Casmoussa is leader of the Syrian Catholic community which has close links to Rome.

The BBC reports: "Archbishop Casmoussa, leader of the city's Syrian Catholic community, was seized by gunmen at around 1700 (1400 GMT) as he was about to enter his car, a local priest told the AFP news agency."

"The kidnappers forced him into the trunk of their vehicle before speeding away, he said."

BACKGROUND ON SYRIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

*Observes the Liturgy of St James, performed in Syriac, though certain readings are in Arabic

*Practiced mostly in Iraq and Lebanon

*In communion with Roman Catholic church since the 17th century.

The Assyrian [syrian] separated denominationally from the Chaldean in the 16th century. Syriac script used some, Arabic also used. 

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IRAQ: THE PERSECUTION OF MANDAEANS

Iraqi Assyrians: Barometer of Pluralism

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