As thousands of young Catholics around the world celebrated diocesan World Youth Day on the feast of Christ the King last Sunday, the Chaldean youth in war-torn Iraq was no exception as Christians in Iraq and Lebanon struggle and pray for a better future.
Newsroom (28/11/2021 4:30 PM, Gaudium Press) A weekend-long meeting brought together 450 men and women from the country’s eight dioceses. Most of this weekend’s activities were held at St. Joseph’s Chaldean Cathedral in Baghdad, with young Chaldean Catholics from all over the country taking part.
The purpose of the meeting, said Father Karam Shamasha, from the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq, was “for the youth to get to know each other and renew their encounter with the living Christ.”
“You are a living Church”
Under the motto of “You are a living Church,” the Nov. 18-20 gathering of the Chaldean youth was the first of its kind. Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Luis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Church. “I would like to express to each of you my closeness and understanding for the difficulties and emergencies you are facing, but also to tell you that there is no reason to despair,” Sako told the youth as he welcomed them on Friday. “The Lord calls us to be a living and strong Church, a Church that bears his word, his love and his salvation.” Sako also said that young Christians in Iraq had experienced martyrdom – thousands were killed by ISIS between 2014 and 2017 when the terrorist group ruled over most of the country – and called them “our pride,” emphasizing the fact that young generations don’t have a “decorative function” in the Church. On the contrary, he argued: their talents, thoughts and creative impetus are needed.
The cardinal urged the youth to pray for Iraq and for our Lord to bring His peace to all the Middle East. His eminence also explained the value of human life that is lived for a purpose, whether in married or consecrated life, and the need for the youth to know where to go to engage in community service without fear, for a Christian is never afraid.
The Church in Lebanon
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, the formation of a government in Lebanon after 13 months of political stalemate paves the way for a potential papal visit to the country. On Thursday, Pope Francis told Lebanon’s new prime minister that the crisis-hit country is worth fighting to save. The pope met privately with Prime Minister Najib Mikati for a 20-minute discussion at the Vatican on Nov. 25. “Lebanon is a country, a message, and also a promise to fight for,” Pope Francis said after the two exchanged gifts in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace.
Mikati presented the pope with a brick from the Melkite Catholic Church of the Savior, badly damaged by the Beirut port explosion in August 2020. Pope Francis assured Mikati of his prayers for the efforts to help Lebanon get back on its feet. He recalled the Gospel passage, in which Jesus takes Jairus’ daughter by the hand and says to her: “Arise.”
“Lord God, take Lebanon by the hand and say, ‘Arise!'” the pope said. The pope gave the prime minister a bronze casting depicting workers in a vineyard with the inscription, ‘May the fruit of the vine and the work of man become for us a cup of salvation.'”
Lebanon’s new prime minister faces the challenge of coming into power when three-quarters of the population live in poverty, and there are widespread shortages of medicine, fuel, and food. The World Bank has described Lebanon’s financial situation as among the “most severe crisis episodes globally since the mid-19th century.”
It estimates that country’s real GDP contracted by more than 20% in 2020, with surging inflation and high unemployment. Lebanon’s currency has plummeted in 2021. By June, the Lebanese pound had lost 90% of its value since October 2019. In recent months, the state has only provided electricity for less than two hours a day.
