The head of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq has chided priests
for seeking asylum without their bishop's permission, for joining other
Churches or for turning their parishes into "empires".In a strongly worded letter to priests, the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Louis Raphael I Sako, formerly the Archbishop of Kirkuk until his election as Patriarch in February, also chided a minority of priests who do not celebrate Mass except on Saturdays and Sundays, and those who do not preach "or, when they do, they turn their homilies into insults or requests for money".
Priesthood, he said, echoing Pope Francis' recent statements, "is a mission, not a profession or a business".
However, he acknowledged that Iraq's problems including a weak central Government, the chronic lack of security and the fact that several episcopal sees remained unfilled, had taken their toll on priests.
At their Synodal assembly last month Chaldean bishops reiterated that no priest may leave his diocese without his bishop's permission.