Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Baghdad (Agenzia Fides) – In the midst of so much suffering, pain, denied rights, and discrimination, the Catholic Church in Iraq has good news: on November 6, 2008, the Baghdad headquarters of Babel College, the only Christian theological faculty in Iraq, was returned to its owner, the Chaldean Church, by the American army that occupied them since the end of March 2007.
The activities hosted by the complex -affiliated to the Urbaniana University of Rome, a dependent of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, had been transferred to Ankawa, in the north of the country, controlled by the Kurdish Regional Government and where they are still functioning. Along with it, the Chaldean major seminary of St Peter and the Institute of Religious Sciences for the preparation of catechists were also transferred, for reasons of security.
However, the hope of one day returning to Baghdad never vanished, say the College's directors, all of whom hope that the sector of Dora (where it is located) will become one of the Christian centers of Baghdad, as Babel College Rector Monsignor Jacques Isaac told the information service “Baghdad Hope.”
Now, after 19 months, the Babel College is back in the hands of Chaldean church following the new American policy to leave the control of the streets to the Iraqi army. “The agreement is that the U.S. Army will restore the damaged parts and replace what was destroyed: the equipment of classrooms, for example, and the typography,” Msgr. Isaac said, noting that “the library was not damaged because it has always been kept closed. Not even the chapel was damaged because, given the presence of a chaplain, it was used for what it is: a place of worship.”
The Rector hopes that, once the restoration is finalizes, classes can resume. “We hope that all is in Dora - the faculty, the Institute, the seminary - could return to operate as before. But this does not mean that the sections created in Ankawa will be closed. In recent months we realized their worth in the north and we intend to keep them working also there.”
The security of the complex is now in the hands of the Iraqi army, that must demonstrate to want to protect it and to know how to do it. If it will perform its duty it will be a proof of the will of the government to respect minorities. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 14/11/2008)
