Sydney
21 July 2002

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Chaldean leader blesses new church

The Patriarch of Babylon, Mar Raphael I Bidawid

The spiritual leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church, Mar Raphael I Bidawid, the Patriarch of Babylon, visited his flock in Sydney and Melbourne this month on his first visit to Australia.

He dedicated and blessed the new Chaldean Church of St Thomas the Apostle at Bossley Park, on Sydney’s southwest outskirts, on the feast day of St Thomas, the patron of the Chaldean Church.

Mons Zouhair Toma, the patriarchal vicar of the Chaldean Church in Australia and New Zealand, who resides in the Bossley Park parish, said it was a “privilege and honour” to be hosting the leader.

He promised the community’s ongoing support and prayers for their leader’s difficult ministry.

“We know you have been shouldering immense responsibility, particularly in times that are not very friendly and in sometimes hostile circumstances,” he said, referring to the UN sanctions imposed on all the people of Iraq since the 1990 Gulf War.

Mar Raphael I Bidawid thanked the guests, who included the Archbishop of Sydney, Dr George Pell; the Apostolic Nuncio in Australia, Archbishop Francesco Canalini; the Bishop of the Assyrian Church of the East, Bishop Mar Meelis Zaia; and the Archbishop of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Australia, Archbishop Aghan Baliozian, plus civic leaders, for their support of the Chaldean people.

“Thank you for all you have done and are doing for the benefit of our people who have endured very bad conditions and who have left their country in difficult situations,” he said.

“Thank God, with your assistance and the assistance of the Australian government, they are enjoying peaceful and happy lives.

“Our people are ready to show their devotion and their participation in Catholic life and, in the name of all the people of the Chaldean Church, I ask your blessing upon all of us.

“We are here to express our true love for all the Australian community, all denominations, and all people with whom we are willing to live in peace, start a new life … and give whatever we can.”

Dr Pell welcomed the patriarch and congratulated Mons Toma and the 900-strong congregation on their new church.

“This new church is a marvellous testament to your faith as well as your generosity,” he said.

“For the young people in the church tonight I hope you realise how significant this occasion is.”

Dr Pell explained that he studied in Rome with the Chaldean leader but added with a smile that he was in the year behind the patriarch.

“Which is fitting,” he said.

“Sometimes we Westerners forget just how venerable and ancient the Eastern Catholic traditions are, how important they have been, and how they have survived under immense pressures, sometimes hostile pressures, over many hundreds of years.

“So I congratulate you, I recognise the contribution you are making to Australia and, as fellow Catholics, we will support you in every way possible so that you can live here in peace and prosperity and make your contribution.”

The Chaldean Catholic Church is the largest Christian Church in Iraq and has close to 1.5 million members worldwide.

There are more than 10,000 Chaldean faithful who belong to the Sydney parish and 6000 in Melbourne, the parish of Our Lady Guardian of Plants.

Families have also settled in other major cities including Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Hobart, bringing the total number of Australian Chaldeans to 20,000.

The Bossley Park church was completed at the end of last year.

Before that Masses were held in the parish meeting hall which was built – along with the presbytery – in 1995.

Originally the Chaldean community was based at a small property in Ermington.

Mons Toma said: “Over the 25 years since it was established in Sydney, the Chaldean community has come a very long way from a very humble beginning.”

The patriarch, who was accompanied on his visit by his auxiliary, Archbishop Emmanuael Delly, left Australia for New Zealand to meet the Bishop of Auckland, Bishop Patrick Dunn, for discussions on the needs of the Chaldean community in that country.