ASIA/IRAQ - Chaldean League: debate on the statutes and internal organization has begun

Monday, 7 April 2014

Baghdad (Agenzia Fides) - It will be a secular international aggregation, will deal with the political and social problems that affect the Chaldean Christian communities around the world and will gather in particular "professionals, intellectuals and competent experts in various disciplines". This is the potential profile of the Chaldean League, the association that should be established in the coming months to represent in a coordinated and systematic manner the motions of the Chaldean community in civil society at a local and global level.
In recent days, a working document which defines the profile, the goals and structure of the association was published in the official media of the Chaldean Patriarchate. "For the time being it is a work tool", says to Fides Agency the Auxiliary Bishop of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Saad Sirop, "on which we want to open the discussion and gather opinions from the Chaldean community in Iraq and from those who have settled in other Countries. Suggestions and comments from all over the world are being collected. Then the document and the rules contained in it will be subject to the approval of the Patriarch and Synod of Bishops of the Chaldeans".
The draft regulation states that the Chaldean League proposes to consolidate the foundations of coexistence and defend the rights of the Chaldeans, placing itself as "an instrument of pressure" on the decision-making processes that affect civil society. The association, in the intentions of the promoters, will also be asked to participate with their representatives in international forums. It must be free from any organic link with acronyms and political parties. The financial resources will have to come only from private donations and from the collection of registration fees. Within the association ad hoc committees for human rights and international relations are expected to be activated. The League will have the profile of an independent association without exercising any formal representative function with respect to the Chaldean Church, nor interfere in its guidance and pastoral arrangements.
In mid-February, the Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako launched the project of an association aimed to coordinate and facilitate the contribution of the Chaldeans to civil society. "As Chaldeans" explained Patriarch Sako "we live in a time of confusion and uncertainty. Our presence in society is weak, fragmented in the field of politics, culture, social action. A 'Chaldean League' can help us give our contribution to the civic life of the Country in a more concrete and effective way" (see Fides 14/02/2014). (GV) (Agenzia Fides 07/04/2014)


Share: