Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth defines Christian communities as pockets of hope and signs of contradictions. It is in this spirit he has gifted to the people of Iraq their first modern Cardinal. Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly is an Islamic scholar. His PhD deals with dialogue between Catholicism and Islam. Iraq or ancient Mesopotamia is important for understanding the genesis of Christianity. Christ was of the House of David which traces itself to Iraq. We hardly think of Iraq as being Christian. Also a few weeks ago Islamic scholars had asked the Pope to continue dialogue with Islam. They fear the annihilation of the world unless there is peace between Catholics and Muslims. These are the two most numerous religions in the world. Cardinal Delly answers the Muslim request. He is the bridge we were all waiting for. The Cardinal speaks Italian, French and English, not to speak of his own Arabic. He comes from a family of priests and is known to be an austere and humble man.
We need to see the Pope’s choice from two different angles. First we need to see him with the eyes of the Catholic Faith. Then we need to see him as a choice necessitated by global cross-currents. Dogma tells us that Cardinal Delly is not a human choice. It is God Himself who acts through the Pope when the latter chooses the Church-hierarchy. If we see this Cardinal as God’s choice, then we are reassured. Everything is not lost. There is still scope and time for dialogue. The New York Times reports this Cardinal’s wish to sensitize the Christian world of the human tragedy in Iraq. He abhors the idea of emphasizing any merely Christian tragedy in Iraq. There is no exclusively Christian situation where people of all faiths are killed. So in this sense he is after God’s own heart. God never distinguishes between men. He is also an answer to the aspirations of the Chaldean, Assyrian and other ethnic Christian groups in Iraq.
The Cardinal has been chosen to reaffirm Christianity’s claim to what it considers the Holy Land. This covers Iraq, Syria, Israel and the disputed Palestinian territory including Jerusalem. Cardinal Delly serves also to reinvigorate the Faith for the 2000 years’ old Eastern rite Chaldean Christians. The Chaldeans are dwindling fast in Iraq. When Islamic extremism is on the rise worldwide, when Shia-Sunni violence is at an all time high, when US troops are having their worse year ever after the Iraqi occupation, the Pope chooses this man. Why? He wants to place in the midst of this tumultuous world, a sign of love. He re-echoes through his choice the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi about sowing love where there is hatred. This Cardinal is a true product of inculturation. The Church terms her dialogue with other religions as ‘inculturation’. The Chaldean Patriarch will be inducted into the College of Cardinals on 24, November. Iraq now has a say in Church matters.
Via: New York Times
Image: Chaldean Org
