CHALDEAN DIGEST Chaldean Patriarch: Middle East Christians need unity to survive A first communion mass was held in April in the St. George’s Chaldean Church in Iraq which was destroyed by the Islamic State in 2014 and rebuilt through the Hungary Helps Program. Millions Contributed to Renovating Churches In the framework of the Hungary Helps Program, the Hungarian government protects communities threatened by religious or other persecution, violence, catastrophes, or the effects of migration. In a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart, the Hungarian Minister said that he was coming from a country where war is raging in the neighborhood, but the armed conflict in Ukraine is having negative effects not only in the region but also throughout the world. The food crisis, he said, is one of the most acute problems in countries, citing, for example, the efforts that are being made in Lebanon to feed its population. Chaldean American Chamber Launches Ark Angel II Fund The Farmington Hills-based Chaldean American Chamber, which represents approximately 25,000 Chaldeanowned businesses around the state, on Wednesday announced that it had launched the $5 million Ark Angel II Fund to invest in startups in Michigan and elsewhere. A news release says the fund has already identified investors for the second fund — which follows the $ 1 million first fund rolled out in late 2020 — and screening for new startup investments will begin in the coming months, according to the release. Ark Angel’s first fund has invested in seven companies. “Our committee has reviewed and closely analyzed literally hundreds of potential startup recipients over the past two years and is looking forward to continuing to assist these innovative companies in realizing short- and long-term goals,” Tom Haji, the Ark Angel Fund administrator, said in the release. “They join a talented roster of initial recipients that are already realizing success as we close out Fund I.” Early-stage seed and angel investment deals were “resilient” in 2022, according to the most recent Venture Monitor report from Pitchbook and the National Venture Capital Association. – Crains Detroit Business “I would like to express our deepest respect to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt for taking in people who have had to leave their homes,” he said, pointing out that these countries are now at the limits of their capacity and that their burden must be eased. – hungarytoday.hu Tom Haji, administrator of Ark Angel Fund I & II In a message titled “The Eastern Churches need a breath of fresh air,” published ahead of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Patriarch of Baghdad, Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako, warned that “future Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako generations will be without faith” unless Churches overcome their differences to address the reality of life in the region. According to Agenzia Fides, the Cardinal said that he found too many priests proposing outdated ideas – “what they said seemed to have no relation to the present reality” – and that many Church pronouncements “neither touch the feelings of the recipients, nor nourish their hope, nor give consolation and refreshment.” He said that the Eastern Catholic Churches (the 23 independent Churches in full communion with Rome) had not garnered much benefit from the Second Vatican Council or from the Synod for the East convened by Benedict XVI in 2010. “Our strength lies in our harmonious unity, which is a guarantee of our survival and our continuity in spreading our message,” he said. The Cardinal, a consistent advocate of Church unity, said last September that he saw “nothing to prevent the union of the Chaldean Church and the Assyrian Church of the East.” The Chaldean Church is based in Iraq, where it makes up 80 per cent of the rapidly diminishing Christian population (estimated at 1.5 million in 2003, and 200,000 in 2021). The Cardinal’s message for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity emphasized the need to address these dangers rather than pursue internal quarrels. “Church leaders must overcome petty differences, fanaticism and fear in order to safeguard the Christian presence in the Middle East,” he said. – The Tablet 12 CHALDEAN NEWS <strong>FEBRUARY</strong> <strong>2023</strong>
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