Father Albert Hisham – The Chaldean Patriarchate Media Administrator: On the 10th anniversary of his Episcopal ordination, His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Louis Raphael Sako met on Thursday morning, 14 November 2013, his children, the priests of the Diocese of Baghdad, within his periodic meetings with them, to discuss the most pressing issues in the parish as migration, ecclesiastical courts, communal living among the priests, helping needy families, organizing the celebration of the mysteries and the coming Christmas’ feasts .
Patriarch Sako thanked God for His Grace that accompanied him during the ten years of his episcopate, first as the patron of the Diocese of Kirkuk and today as the patron of the Chaldean Church, asking for forgiveness from whom he had sinned against him, and at the same time reiterated his intention of cooperation and openness for the good of our Church and our country. His Beatitude invited the priests to commit to constructive criticism and stressed the importance of clarity and openness between all, and to work within the scope of truth and justice.
Before discussing the details of the meeting, His Beatitude welcomed Father Farid Putros coming from Syria to serve in the Diocese of Baghdad and is currently housed in the parish of St Elijah Al-Hiri with Fr. Thomas, parish priest, and practices his pastoral duties in the Church of St. Thomas The Apostle in Alni’airiyah instead of Father Salim Saka who will have a full-time work within the ecclesiastical courts in Ankawa, Erbil, after receiving the decree of the Council of Catholic Bishops, The Court of First Instance, with other priests specialized in Canon law under the supervision of His Excellency Bishop Bashar Matti Warda. His Beatitude also welcomed Deacon Nashat Toza who will be ordained as priest on the 28th of this month at St Joseph Chaldean Church at Khurbendah, in order to start his pastoral duties within the diocese.
Patriarch Sako wished to strengthen the Chaldean parishes within Al-Dora, Baghdad, which suffered in the past years from the cruel migration process causing the loss of most of the Christians living there, but today, there is some kind of peace and there are quite a number of Christian families in the region worth of attention from the mother church. His Beatitude also expressed his wishes to visit the parish of Hillah in Babil to provide material and moral aid to its people.
On the subject of immigration, Patriarch Sako asked the priests to raise awareness among the believers in a positive way, in a way that does not impose one view but enlightens the way in front of the people who are thinking of leaving the country, and illustrate the many challenges that will confront their way outside Iraq.
At lunchtime, his Excellency, highly respected, Nuncio Giorgio Lingua shared in celebrating the anniversary of the Episcopal ordination of Patriarch Sako, and the participants asked of longevity for His Beatitude to serve our Chaldean Church in the current time.