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By Carol Glatz Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Iraqi Catholics fleeing physical dangerin their homeland often find themselves unprepared for the moral threats awaiting their families in the UnitedStates, said the head of Chaldean Catholics in the Western U.S. Seeing a lack of respect for the unborn, altered definitions ofmarriage and a general disregard for Christian values meansChaldean Catholic families settling in the United States often findthemselves in a world they are not at all accustomed to, ChaldeanBishop Sarhad Y. Jammo of the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle ofSan Diego told Catholic News Service May 17. The challenge for many parents is not so much the usualdifficulties with the language or acclimating to a new culture, butrather being afraid of what their children may be exposed to everyday in the media and many schools, he said. "This is the irony, that is the dilemma," he said. Theyescape from gunfire in Iraq trying to save their family so they goto the United States "and they find physical security, butthen they face moral attack," he said. Because of a lack of moral grounding in the wider culture, familiesturn to the church for help as they struggle to maintain theirChristian identity and live according to the Gospel, Bishop Jammosaid. The bishop was in Rome for his "ad limina" visit to theVatican together with other heads of Eastern Catholic dioceses inthe United States. Chaldean Catholics are the largest Eastern-rite community in theUnited States and their numbers are steadily growing. The Chaldeaneparchies based in Detroit and San Diego count about 165,000faithful, according to Vatican statistics for 2011. Bishop Jammo said their growing numbers are due to a large andsteady stream of refugees since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in2003. Chaldean Bishop Ibrahim N. Ibrahim, who heads the Eparchy of St.Thomas the Apostle of Detroit, the diocese for Chaldean Catholicsin the Eastern United States, said the biggest challenge in hisdiocese is how to help families who have been unable to go tochurch for years. Many of the refugees spent five to 10 years in a transit countrysuch as Lebanon, Jordan or Syria before they found a home in theUnited States, he said. The bishops' aim is to make them feel at home "afterthose years of suffering" and to help them acclimate to theirnew surroundings and reignite their faith, he said. Many refugees have "become confused" in terms of theirfaith during their hiatus abroad, either losing their faith becausethey had little to no access to a priest or pastoral care orbecause they found solace in a Protestant community, he said. "However, when they arrive in the States, we get themback" when they discover the large, vibrant Chaldean Catholiccommunity, he said. "They want to be with their own citizens, their own people,family and friends" and hear their own language, he said. Bishop Ibrahim estimates there are really more than 180,000Chaldean Catholics just in his eparchy alone. He said they have1,100 baptisms and 400 weddings a year, which keeps their 20priests very busy. In each of the past five years, they have ordained one U.S.-bornpriest a year, but this year they will ordain two men. "That is a good sign and I'm going to tell the pope(during their meeting May 18) that we are really blessed by thevocations of young people for the priesthood," he said. For both bishops, funding new parishes and pastoral programs fortheir growing number of parishioners are enormous challenges. Despite the generous help they receive from the U.S. Conference ofCatholic Bishops, Bishop Jammo said the economic investment neededto fund Bible study programs, youth groups, catechisms, and providefor seminarians, priests, nuns and teachers is"overwhelming." Many Chaldeans arrive in the United States with appropriate skillsand education, and a desire to work, but there are no jobs, saidBishop Jammo. That means most parishioners are not only unable tohelp fund and support the parish and its work, they need financialand social assistance from the church, he said. "I am racing against time because I don't want to loseeven one soul," he said. The Eastern Catholic bishops formed the last group of bishops fromthe United States making their visits "ad liminaapostolorum" (to the threshold of the apostles) to pray atthe tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul, to meet with PopeBenedict XVI and to visit Vatican officials to discuss issues ofcommon concern. END data/stories/cns/1202040.htm. I am an expert from rfid-smartcard.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Rfid Card Reader , China Rfid Coin Tag, Rfid Reader Module,and more.
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