Chaldean Catholic Church to elect new patriarch in January
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(Vatican Radio) - Pope Benedict XVI has convoked a Synod of bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church for January, 2013. The aim of the Synod will be to elect a successor to His Beatitude Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, whose resignation was accepted by the Holy Father on Wednesday. Emer McCarthy reports:
The Chaldean Church is the largest Christian group in Iraq, consisting of eight dioceses, 100 parishes and approximately 500,000 faithful. The number has fallen drastically however, since the fall of Saddam Hussein and the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
During the war and subsequent insecurity, Christians in Iraq were the targets of an often violent persecution including bomb attacks, murders and abductions. This led to a wave of emigration generating a large Iraqi Christian diaspora.
The Chaldean Church has other dioceses and eparchies in countries including Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Australia, Canada, the U.S. and Europe. It is estimated that the Chaldean population is over one and a half million worldwide.
During the turmoil that ensued the 2003 invasion the Chaldean Church suffered great losses. Most notably, the young priest Father Ragheed Ganni, of the Chaldean Church of the Holy Spirit, who was killed on 3 June 2007 in Mosul, alongside the subdeacons Basman Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna Isho, and Gassan Isam Bidawed, after he celebrated mass.
Also in Mosul, the Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho and three companions were abducted on February 29, 2008, and murdered a few days later.
Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly, 85, was elected Patriarch of the Chaldean Church on December 3, 2003, succeeding the late Patriarch Raphael I Bidawid. He was created a Cardinal Bishop by Pope Benedict XVI on November 24, 2007. On that occasion Pope Benedict was said the gesture demonstrated his "spiritual closeness and affection" for Iraqi Christians.