The 27th of July, Monsignor Andraos Abouna, auxiliary bishop of the Chaldeans of Bagdad (Iraq), passed away in Ankawa. The apostolic nuncio of Iraq and Jordan, Monsignor Francis A. Chullikatt announced the news of this huge loss to the Iraqian Church to the agency Sir.
Monsignor Abouna, who was 67 years of age, suffered from a kidney illness, told the patriarchal curate of Bagdad, Monsignor Shlemon Warduni. Born on the 23rd of March 1943 in the village of Bedar, in the suburbs of Zakho, northern Iraq, Andraos aged 14, joined Saint Peter’s Seminary – then based in the northern city of Mosul – and was ordained a priest for the Chaldean Catholic Church on 5th June 1966. After having been parish priest for almost 25 years, firstly in Basssorah, then in Bagdad, he became secretary to Chaldean catholic leader Patriarch Raphael Bidawid in 1989. He was then sent to London where he would be in charge of the Chaldean and Syrian catholic mission in England, a role he fulfilled for 11 years. He returned to Iraq, just after his nomination as auxiliary bishop of Bagdad. On the 6th of January 2003, the Day of the Epiphany, he was ordained to the episcopate in Rome by Pope John Paul II, at the same time 12 new bishops, including Celstino Migliore, in St Peters, Rome. On this occasion, St Peters greeted the new pastors “Arise, shine; for your light has come, (Isaiah 60, 1.3). I pray that your pastoral ministry may contribute to make the light of Christ shine among the peoples. In respect for their institutions and cultures, may you invite the nations to whom you are being sent, to be open to the Gospel. Only Christ can guarantee a profound renewal of consciences and of peoples. May the beloved ecclesial communities who will receive you, whom I greet with affection, be able to find in you diligent and generous Pastors (The Vatican Website, Homily of Pope John Paul II, 06/01/2003).
Monsignor Abouna devoted his life to the service of a church gripped by the war, to its oppression and growing difficulties. However, as Archbishop Warda Bashar of Erbil recounts, through it all he remained “a Sheppard, always smiling, even in very difficult situations”. A few weeks after his installation, the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein was overthrown and the main regions in Iraq, including Bagdad sunk into disorder and violence. Christians were among the worst to suffer and Bishop Abouna helped his people in the face of insurgent activity including bomb attacks on churches and threats of violence against non-Muslims. This catalogue of incidents sparked a mass exodus from the city. Despite his health becoming more and more precarious, the bishop remained in Bagdad, organising events for young people where the conditions of security permitted.
Monsignor Abuna reached his goal. For him he fulfilled the words said by John Paul II on the day of his Episcopal ordination: be concerned to reflect "the glory of the Lord as in a mirror" and "you will be transformed into his image, from glory to glory" (cf. II Cor 3,18).
Sources : SIR, Radio Vatican, site du Vatican, Zenit
