Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
San Diego (Fides Service) – “We are ready to work in harmony and collaboration with all the other religious and ethnic groups in Iraq” the Bishops of Chaldean tradition in the United States say in a recent report published by the Chaldean News Agency. The Bishops support the building a new Iraq based on the principles of territorial integrity, respect for human rights and minority groups, democracy, pluralism and religious freedom.
Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim of the St Thomas Apostle Eparchy in Detroit, Michigan, USA, and Bishop Mar Sarhad Yawsip of the St Peter Apostle Eparchy at San Diego, California, called for constitutional recognition of the Chaldeans as part of the Iraqi population, with cultural administrative and political rights; representation at the government level; respect for the Aramaic culture and language and the possibility of teaching it in schools; the right to return to their ancestral villages and lands; a Constitution which guarantees freedom of religions, in a clear situation of separation of state and religion.
The appeal was published by the Chaldean News Agency based in the United States which recently re-launched its service on-line supplying news, reports, testimony from the Chaldean community all over the world. Since the war in Iraq, the agency has become a major point of reference for spreading news on Christians of the Chaldean tradition, who intend to help build a new Iraq of democracy, equality, freedom of worship and evangelisation
The Chaldean News Agency is supported by the two Eparchies in the United States, St Thomas Apostle Eparchy in Detroit, Michigan, USA, and St Peter Apostle Eparchy at San Diego, California which have a total of 150,000 Chaldean Christians plus about 100,000 Christians of Syro-Malabar rite very similar to the Chaldean rite in language, origin and culture. PA (Fides Service 12/5/2003 EM lines 27 Words: 317)
