Chaldean News Update
Syria: desperate Iraqi Christians resort to prostitution
Some Iraqi Christian women have turned to prostitution in order to survive in Syria, Bishop Antoine Audo SJ told a press conference in London today. ;
Bishop Audo, who based in Aleppo, has responsibility for Chaldean Catholics in Syria. ; Between 40,000 - 50,000 Chaldeans have arrived in the country as a result of the bombings, murders, kidnappings and general instability in Iraq. ;Some were forced out of their homes by Islamic fundamentalists.
[via Independent Catholic News]
Detroit-area Chaldean Catholics rejoice as patriarch is made cardinal
DETROIT (CNS) — Detroit-area Chaldean Catholics expressed pride that Cardinal Emmanuel-Karim Delly, 80, is the first Chaldean patriarch in history to be in the College of Cardinals of the Catholic Church.
About 150 Chaldeans from the Detroit area traveled to Rome for the Nov. 24 consistory.
[via Catholic News Service]
Metro Detroit Chaldeans traveling to Italy for historic cardinal …
More than 100 Chaldeans from metro Detroit will travel to Italy today to witness the first-ever inauguration of a Chaldean as a cardinal on Saturday.
Patriarch Cardinal-designate Mar Emmanuel III Delly, the current patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans and a resident of Baghdad along with 22 others from around the world will accept their red hats to go along with their ceremonial robes and join the College of Cardinals, becoming the Pope’s advisors and the voters for the next papal election. The church’s number of cardinals will total 202.
[via Detroit Free Press]
San Diego becoming home, and workplace, for Iraqi refugees
San Diego has become home to a significant portion of the 2,058 Iraqi refugees resettled in the United States since February, when the country began accepting those displaced by the upheaval in Iraq.
Most of the 403 Iraqi refugees resettled in California during first nine months of the year have moved to the San Diego area, according to Elizabeth Campbell, director of Refugee Council USA.
[via Medill Reports]
Chaldean Catholics Lead Boycott of Miller
In metropolitan Detroit, Chaldean Catholics own about 2,000 party stores — about 90 percent of the total of the area’s independent neighborhood convenience stores that sell food and other items, including alcoholic beverages.
Bishop Ibrahim worked with Chaldean ethnic and business groups to boycott Miller products after the company’s logo appeared on a poster for a Sept. 30 San Francisco street fair that mocked Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of “The Last Supper” and had what critics described as a sadomasochistic theme.
[via Catholic Online]
Chaldean Americans lobby with one voice
FARMINGTON HILLS — Martin Manna expects the November release of an economic report to measure the economic contributions Chaldean Americans make in the Detroit area.
“We’ve been trying to have more of a voice,” said Manna, executive director of the Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce. “We have an active business community that has a tremendous impact in Southeast Michigan.” The chamber commissioned the United Way and Walsh College to conduct the survey, which will provide an accurate examination of the Chaldean community, its characteristics and economic impact, Manna said.
[via DetNews.com]