By Baghdadhope
Two day ago,
in the cosy atmosphere of the chapel of the Pontifical
Urban College in Rome was held a mass restricted to the
Eastern Christian community in Rome in memory of
Mgr.
Faraj P. Rahho. The officiant was
Mgr.
Philip Najim, Chaldean Procurator to the Holy
See and Apostolic Visitor in Europe who reported some of
the words spoken by the Chaldean Patriarch,
Mar
Emmanuel III Delly, during Mgr. Rahho’s funeral
mass held in the same morning in
Karamles. Present were, among the others,
Cardinal
Daoud I Ignace Moussa, Patriarch Emeritus of
the Syriac Catholic Church and Prefect Emeritus of the
Congregation for Oriental Churches,
Mgr.
Mikhail Jamil, Procurator to the Holy See and
Apostolic Visitor in Europe for the same church,
Father
Khaled Bishayi, Official for the Chaldean
church to the Congregation for Oriental Church,
Father
Jibrail, Superior General of Chaldean monks,
Don
Graziano Borgonovo, rector of the International
Theological and Philosophical Seminary "John Paul II"
and, of course, the rector of the Pontifical Urban
College that hosted the ceremony:
Father
Fernando Domingues mccj.
Moving was the moment
when, after the words by Mgr. Najim, the homily was
delivered by
Father
Amer Najman Youkhanna, student at the
Pontifical Irish College in Rome, but above all, a
priest of the Archdiocese of Mosul of the Chaldeans and,
as such, particularly touched by the death of Mgr. Rahho
who was not only his bishop but also his pastor:
"one of the main points that made me discover my
vocation to the priesthood," as he said.
Below is
the text by Father Amer Najman Youkhanna, moving
testimony of a young priest who is saddened but,
however, finds in Mgr. Rahho’s martyrdom a further
incentive to continue to witness Christ in the tormented
land of Iraq
Yet for your sake we face death all day
long [1]
Dear brothers and
sisters, the readings we have chosen for this mass show
us a reality that does not concern only the first
centuries of Christianity, but that is also now
tragically present. The first reading tells us about the
martyrdom of Eleazar [2], who, by his words tells us
today how he wanted to testify his faith in God
Almighty, "enduring terrible pain in my body from this
scourging, but also suffering it with joy in my soul
because of my devotion to him.". Eleazar could escape,
but preferred to die to give glory to the name of the
Lord, and not live in shame for having neglected His
law. In the letter to the Romans, then, it is said "
neither death, nor life, nor kings, nor governments, nor
armies; neither those that shall rise, nor that are
destined, neither height, nor depth, and neither any
creatures can separate me from the love of God who is
our Lord Jesus Christ.” The reading of the Gospel of
Luke finally shows us how the Lord himself said the
same:" they shall… persecute you for my name's sake, and
“it shall turn to you for a testimony." Today we are
gathered to celebrate an important event, a great joy:
Mgr. Paul Faraj Rahho bore witness by his own blood to
give glory to the name of Jesus our Lord. Yes, dear
brothers, we are not here to mourn a dead, we are here
to rejoice together that the eparchy of Mosul of the
Chaldeans now has another intercessor in heaven, another
martyr who continues to write the history of our church
not with ink, but with his own blood.
Click on "leggi tutto" for the whole homily by Father
Amer Najman Youkhanna
I think therefore that it
is very important today, and all together as we are, to
remember the life of this martyr. Mgr. Rahho was born on
December 20, 1942, the last of eight children: five
males and three females. He attended the primary school
of St. Simon Peter in Mosul, and completed the middle
and the high school in the minor seminary of the
Chaldean Patriarchate of St. Simon Peter (1954-1960). He
continued his studies in Baghdad and at the same seminar
he completed the philosophical and theological studies.
He was ordained priest on 10 January 1965. From 1974 to
1976 he was in Rome where he obtained the license in
pastoral theology at the Angelicum University. Once back
in Iraq he was parish priests of different churches: Mar
Isaiah, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and, finally, S.
Paul, my parish church, that was founded and built by
him and where he spent the most important years of his
life and achieved great successes in the pastoral field.
Appointed bishop by the Synod of the Chaldean Church, he
was ordained archbishop of Mosul on 16 February 2001.
Mgr. Rahho was well known for his pastoral zeal. As my
pastor, in fact, his example was one of the main points
that made me discover my vocation to the priesthood. I
would like on this day to remember some of the
activities, movements and fraternities founded by him.
In 1986, in the parish church of St. Paul, he founded
the "Fraternity of Charity and Joy" to assist the
disabled brothers. They were to him a gift from the Lord
to make us remember those who need us, to work with them
was for him a way to discover the true meaning of
humanity, making us become closer to the image of the
Lord, present inside each of us. The fraternity grew and
spread across the country, in Catholic and non-Catholic
churches, becoming a shining example of ecumenism. Soon
after he founded also the "Oasis of Charity and Joy" to
accommodate the disabled brothers felt as a burden by
their families. Among the other initiatives of the
bishop there is also the "Fraternity of Friends of the
Holy Family of Nazareth," for newly married couples, and
the "Brothers of Jesus", who began to assist the poorest
families under the embargo in the 90s and that still
continue their activities.
Remarkable is the role that Mgr. Rahho had among young
people who, throughout the diocese, loved him deeply. As
a priest, in 1993, he created the "Youth Week", during
which, twice a year, young people gather to pray and
listen to some speakers discussing on a topic each time
chosen among the closer to the lives of the new
generations. An initiative that over time extended
throughout the Archdiocese.
In the last years of war and American invasion Mgr.
Rahho shown a great courage giving witness of faith and
hope, insisting on the presence of Christians in Iraq
and especially in his diocese: Mosul. He openly
expressed its rejection of the way in which the
Americans had wanted to bring democracy in our country,
and in various meetings and interviews he declared as
the Americans had not done anything good, but had,
indeed, only destroyed Iraq. With courage Mgr. Rahho
always wanted that all the churches in Mosul remained
open, and always because of his courageous witness of
faith he received many threats and letters of death
sentence by various terrorist groups that now
unfortunately control Mosul. The first act of violence
he suffered was the terrorist attack against the
archiepiscopal see palace on December 7, 2004. A
terrible action as terrorists had placed, without any
obstacle, the bombs inside the building, and after the
explosion had prevented firemen to bring help. Since
then Mgr. Rahho had understood that the Americans cannot
guarantee the security, and when, as always late, they
arrived, he sent them away.
After then, and several times, churches in Mosul have
been object of attacks, and after each one of them,
strong in his courage, Mgr. Rahho got things straight in
a very short time, reopened their doors to the faithful,
and in defiance of all the terrorists announced that "we
will never go away from here because this is our land".
After these attacks and as a mortal blow to the bishop
on June 3, 2007 the terrorists killed in cold blood his
right arm, Father Ganni Rageed and three subdeacons,
after he had celebrated mass in the parish church of the
Holy Spirit. After that event Mgr. Rahho stated in
various interviews and articles that Christians in Mosul
are truly persecuted, and after those statements he
received many threats from various groups not revealing
their true name, but merely saying "we are Mujahedin", a
word so known that does not need to be translated.
Mgr. Rahho never gave up, indeed, those threats gave him
more courage to go on. And it is precisely that courage
that led him to continue to celebrate mass in the parish
of the Holy Spirit, even though he knew that in that
area terrorists are strong and present.
Then it came the day of his kidnapping that took place
after the Via Crucis in the same parish, the day of the
ambush when his driver and his two bodyguards died.
People who were not with him to make money, as if it
were a regular job, but because he was their pastor.
Mgr. Rahho was killed in an inhumane way, for the lack
of medicines that were necessary, and that the
kidnappers never wanted us to make him have. "Saydna"
you always said and declared: "I was born in Mosul, and
I want to die in Mosul," and so, now you get the crown
of martyrdom and we are gathered to celebrate this great
event. You have been a true example of the good shepherd
who gives his life for his flock. Dear brothers and
sisters, we do not want to receive condolences for a
dead, we are here to get your wishes, because we have a
new intercessor in heaven: the Martyr Bishop Paul Faraj
Rahho.
[1] Psalms. 44.23
[2] 2Macc. 6,18-31
Praised be Jesus Christ,
Always praised
Father Amer Najman YOUKHANNA
Priest of the Archdiocese of Mosul of the Chaldeans
March 14, 2008. Rome
Translated by Baghdadhope
