Amid Iraqi crisis, Chaldean Catholic Church begins synod

June 25, 2014

Chaldean Catholic bishops from around the world are meeting in Erbil, a town of 30,000 in northern Iraq, for a five-day synod.

The synod, which began on June 24, was originally scheduled to meet in Baghdad and discuss internal ecclesial issues such as appointments to vacant sees.

“Obviously the new situation in Iraq involves a change of program,” a spokesman for the Chaldean Catholic patriarchate told the Fides news agency. “The bishops will evaluate new emergencies that mark the condition of the Christian community and across the country.”

Headquartered in Baghdad, the Chaldean Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See. It has eparchies (dioceses) in nine nations, including the United States, and has an estimated 419,000 members.

 

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Further information:

• The Synod of the Chaldean Church begins with a Mass to ask for the gift of peace (Fides)
• Chaldean Catholic Church (CNEWA)