A couple of weeks ago I interviewed Fr. Carlos Martins, CC, one of only three people in North America who is authorized to authenticate relics of the saints.

Shortly after “A Martyr’s Crown” was published, I went to visit an elderly neighbor I’ve known for 20 years. She’s in the process of going through her belongings so as to spare her children the task after she dies.

“Could you use any rosaries?” she asked me.

I love the rosary and have a nice assortment at home, but then again, there are all those families at the Chaldean Church. Maybe they could use a rosary, I thought.

As she and I sat there unzipping all the various pouches and examining the rosaries, we discovered something wonderful. One of the cases contained what looked to be a first-class relic of St. Lucy, a fourth century martyr for the faith.  My neighbor had completely forgotten that she had the relic.

At the end of my interview with Fr. Martins, I handed him the reliquary to examine. He managed to pry off the back of the reliquary and found the distinctive, red, hand-carved, wax seal of postulator Fr. Nicholas Ferrante.

“You’ve got a genuine first-class relic of St. Lucy,” Fr. Martins told me. “There’s no mistaking this seal and the threads are unbroken.”

Fr. Martins is going to add his seal to the back of the reliquary and provide me with a certificate of authenticity. This is no small matter, as Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted told me.

The Church forbids public veneration of relics unless they have been authenticated.

I plan to bring the relic of St. Lucy to my speaking engagements so that my audience can venerate it and ask her to intercede for them.

Amazingly, St. Lucy is not only the patron of those with eye diseases, she’s also the patron saint of authors. How’s that for a “God-incidence”?

What people are saying about Joyce’s presentation:

“Joyce Coronel came to St. Joseph’s Parish to speak to approximately 65 people. Looking at their faces and seeing the tears touched my heart. Everyone was captivated. Her message with the Chaldean Church and her experience made me appreciate my parish in a deeper way. There is never a concern that I will be killed going to Mass in Phoenix, Arizona. Perhaps we take our freedom for granted. During this Year of Faith I highly recommend more parishes to open their doors to this message.”

“Joyce brings a message of compassion, courage and honor. Hearing the stories of our Chaldean brothers and sisters is at once heartrending and invigorating.  When I pause to reflect on the stories she shared, I am compelled to increase the urgency in my prayer.”

Wayne Rich, President, Serra Club of Phoenix

Joyce Coronel’s concern for the Chaldean Catholics is so evident.  She has written about their plight in her column in the Catholic Sun Phoenix diocesan newspaper as well as having organized  two concerts to raise funds to help support the relocation of persecuted Iraqi refugees who have come to the U.S.  We have been privileged to hear her speak at St. Timothy’s Women’s Fellowship in Mesa, AZ.  I am looking forward to reading her book

Anne Wilson,  St . Timothy’s Women’s Fellowship

 I have interviewed Joyce Coronel several times over the last five years. The last, on the occasion of the release of her first novel, A Martyr’s Crown, inspired by the heartbreaking sacrifices of those present day Chaldean Catholics in the Middle East, who have willingly offered their lives for their faith.  She is articulate, thorough, and incisive as she answers questions.  But she brings more than her gift of communication.  She shares her passion for these people.  She aches with them and for them.  Through her written, and now her spoken words, Joyce paints indelible pictures of a faith community whose very existence is threatened.  Listen to her, and you will never again take your faith for granted.

 Michael Dixon-  Host of The Bishop’s Hour- Diocese of Phoenix (KABC, KCBS, KMOX, WCCO)

Martyred for the faith

Fr. Ragheed Ganni, pray for us!

Come to an inspiring presentation Jan. 24 at 7 p.m. by longtime Catholic Sun columnist Joyce Coronel and learn about this holy Chaldean Catholic priest, Fr. Ragheed Ganni, martyred in Iraq for the faith.  His cousin, Msgr. Felix Shabi, is Corbishop of the Chaldean Catholic Vicariate of Arizona.

You’ll learn about the vibrant faith of what has come to be known as “The Church of Martyrs” as well as the heartbreaking struggles of the Chaldean (Eastern Rite) Catholics, many of whom live right here among us in Phoenix.

More than half the Christian population has left Iraq since 2003, fleeing violence and growing persecution. Fr. Ganni was killed along with three deacons by those who vow to eradicate Christianity from the Middle East.

This presentation is for all those concerned about our Catholic faith, justice, religious liberty and the dignity of human life.  

For more information, visit www.JoyceCoronel.com

We have much to learn from these people — much more than we could ever give them. One Iraqi immigrant who arrived in this country 30 years ago made this wise observation about our society’s lack of perspective: “Americans eat honey all the time,” he told me. “They do not know anymore what sweetness is.”
Support needed
Our freedom to worship God as we please, our freedom from religious persecution — these are things we take for granted. The beds we sleep in, the tables at which we enjoy our meals — these are things that we have come to expect as our birthright.
Msgr. Shabi has a committee at his parish that is working with the refugees, but they need help. Furniture is a pressing need, especially beds, tables, chairs and couches. So is cash. The latest refugees don’t speak English. They don’t have cars. They rely on the good deeds of others to transport them to church, to show them the way.
And oftentimes, the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Evangelicals  are the ones who show up to help, eager to convert the descendants of martyrs to their own denomination.
We cannot ignore these Chaldean brothers and sisters of ours who have suffered so much for the Gospel. It is our duty and our privilege to reach out them in solidarity.
Is your home crowded with furniture you’re not using? Is there something you might sacrifice for those who have sacrificed so much for our faith?
There’s something else that needs attention too: Our government has a duty to protect those who have not or cannot leave Iraq. Cardinal Francis George of Chicago made that clear in a letter he wrote recently to President Barack Obama. “Having invaded Iraq,” he wrote, “our nation has a moral obligation not to abandon Iraqis who cannot defend themselves.” This silence in the face of religious persecution must end.

Perhaps as we recall the gifts of the Magi for the Christ Child, we can search our hearts and our wallets and find a gift we can offer our Chaldean neighbors. While we’re at it, we need to thank the Lord for our freedom. Sometimes we only come to appreciate its value when we meet those who have been deprived of it. ✴
To donate furniture or make a financial contribution to local Chaldean Catholics, call (480) 596-9067.
Joyce Coronel is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Please send comments to letters@catholicsun.org.

By Joyce Coronel
The Catholic Sun
For most people in the United States, the Holy Land is a far-off, mystical place — something they might hear about in the news, but only vaguely understand.
It may come as a shock to learn, for example, that Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus, is not located in Israel at all — it’s in the West Bank, part of the Palestinian National Authority. And while Bethlehem today boasts
a 91 percent Muslim majority, it’s also home to a large, though quickly diminishing, Palestinian-Christian community.
For the 150,000 Christians who remain in the Holy Land, there are no simple answers. Life is an uneasy existence, lived in the shadow of centuries of religious and political conflict, of bloodshed that defies reason. Christians, caught between the camps of mortal enemies, stand in the eye of the storm.
‘Hemorrhaging Christians’ 
Israel’s government is concerned about the dwindling number of Christians in the Middle East, according to Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Oren, who visited Phoenix last month.
“We are the cradle of faith,” he said during a March 17 press conference in Phoenix, “so faith plays a role in our diplomacy as well.”
When questioned about the future of Christianity in the region, Oren pointed to his work as church advisor for Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli Prime Minister who was assassinated in 1995.
“I have a very personal attachment to the issue,” he said. “The Middle East is hemorrhaging Christians.”
The Christian population of the region, which has been there for 2,000 years, Oren said, “is dwindling and dwindling fast as a result of violence, intolerance and attacks.”
Pointing to the growing number of attacks on Christians in Iraq, Egypt and Lebanon, he characterized the trend as “an event of historic importance and of immense tragedy.”
“The Christian communities in the Middle East are the natural bridge between a complex and troubled area,” Oren said, “and the United States and the West in general have an interest in protecting these communities.”
As far as Christians in his country, the ambassador drew a sharp distinction between what he termed the “hyper-democracy” of Israel and the rest of the Middle East.
“Israel is the only country in the Middle East which has a growing population [of Christians]. The only one,” Oren said. “The Christian population in Israel is an affluent community…it’s a very successful community and we cherish that community.”

Along the Via Dolorosa inside the Old City

A two-edged sword
Franscican Father Peter Vasko, who’s spent nearly three decades living among Christians in the region and is president of the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land, offered a different take.
“I certainly agree with [Ambassador Oren] that [the Israelis] cherish the Christian community, but at the same time, there have been some policies that have affected the Christians in negative ways,” the priest said.
“We have to work together for close negotiations always. We have to have talks with the three groups, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian.”
One of the policies Fr. Vasko questions has to do with the concrete wall Israel built along and within the West Bank. The wall, he said, has created hardships.
Palestinian armed resistance, reignited in 2000 prior to the construction of the barrier, targeted Israel with more than 70 suicide bombings that originated in the West Bank. Nearly 300 Israelis were killed and 1,900 were injured. The wall was seen as a way to prevent terrorist attacks.
The imposing structure stretches more than 200 miles and stands more than 26 feet high. Built according to the 1967 border between Israel and Palestine, Israel effectively absorbed some Palestinian land, fueling further resentment.
“The separation barrier has indeed prevented the number of suicide bombers in Israel,” Fr. Vasko admitted. “It is a positive step in curtailing terrorists from entering Israel and we commend that, but unfortunately, the barrier is like a two-edged sword.”
The wall, Fr. Vasko said, has blocked some 320,000 Palestinians — both Christian and non-militant Muslims — from jobs in principal Israeli cities. The wall spawned vast unemployment in the West Bank.
“A lot of Christians were employed in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and because of the barrier have lost their jobs,” Fr. Vasko said. “People have no money to pay for school tuition, let alone purchasing food. It has caused a lot of difficulties for them.”
Fr. Mike Straley, pastor of St. Paul Parish in Phoenix and a member of the Equestrian Order of the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, has seen the wall for himself and shares a similar view.
“I used to do prison work as a chaplain,” Fr. Straley said. “You feel like you are going into an Arizona state prison when you’re going into Bethlehem. It’s walled with razor wire around the edges. It’s very, very difficult.”
Fr. Straley visited Bethlehem University in 2009 and asked one of the students, a Palestinian who lives just outside Bethlehem, how long it takes her to get to school.
“She said it used to take 20 minutes, but now it could take anywhere from an hour to half a day, depending on how much hassle they put her through.”
The wall and the settlements the Israelis have built, Fr. Straley said, are in violation of international law.

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem

The difficulty for Palestinian Christians is that they are caught in the middle of the ongoing conflict. Israelis see them as Arabs — and therefore trouble — and militant Muslims view them as traitors — pro-Israeli and pro-West. Many, in fact, are not.
‘We are watched’
Isam, a businessman who lives in Phoenix and gave only his first name, was born in Nazareth and grew up as a Christian there, attending and later teaching in Catholic schools.
He emigrated to the United States just prior to the 1967 war, but returns to his homeland every two years. Most of his family still lives there.
The Mossad — the Israeli equivalent of the CIA — is powerful, and he said and he didn’t want to disclose his last name.
“If you say things that go on the record, it could really hurt you or they could use it against you,” Isam said. “They are not going to shoot them or kill them, but they make life miserable anyway by taxes or confiscating property — this is the Israeli way.”
Isam sells the carved, olive-wood statues of Jesus and Mary that Bethlehem is famous for, but said many have left Bethlehem to sell their wares in the United States. The Christian population of the city once stood at 80 percent, but is now down to just nine percent.
“The wall is not necessarily for the Christians, but it doesn’t make it easy for them. Christians are part of the Arab community,” Isam said.
“The only thing different between the Christians and Muslims in the eyes of the Israelis is that the Christians are not going to cause human damage, they’re not going to be suicide bombers,” he said.
“I am a citizen,” Isam said, “but I am watched, and every other Christian, we are watched; they keep an eye on us. We don’t have that total freedom.”
Fr. Straley recalled a statement he heard on his 2009 trek to the Holy Land: “If you want to take our side, we don’t need that.”
He heard it from a Melkite bishop, who addressed the pilgrims, offering the heartfelt plea.
“We don’t need people taking sides,” the bishop said. “We need people working for peace.”
Such a peace has been hard to come by.
“Both Israel and the Palestinians have a natural right to self-determination,” Fr. Vasko said. “Military victories by themselves do not bring about security. Only peace built on justice and human rights brings about security.”

By Joyce Coronel
The Catholic Sun

Msgr. Felix Shabi has a heartfelt plea for his fellow Catholics. The Iraqi-born priest is pastor of two burgeoning communities of Chaldeans in the Valley — communities most Arizonans aren’t aware exist.
“It’s important for people to understand who we are and the persecution that our people are going through,” Msgr. Shabi said, “because still today, the world media — including Catholic media — they don’t realize the huge massacre and the huge persecution that we are going through.”
On Oct. 31, terrorists linked to al-Qaida stormed into Our Lady of Salvation Catholic Church in Baghdad during Mass and killed 70 people, including two priests and several children and babies. More than 75 others were wounded in the brutal attack.
And that, said Msgr. Shabi, is just the latest example of the relentless persecution Chaldeans have suffered for their Catholic faith during the last 2,000 years.
First, they were put to death by the Persians. Then came the Mongols, Ottomans, Turks and finally terrorists, all determined to eliminate Chaldean Catholics from the face of the earth. Yet against all odds, they endure — and flourish.
Msgr. Shabi grew up in a village of 300 that has produced nine priests — this in spite of the fact that Christians in general and Catholic priests in particular are routinely victims of violence and persecution.
Christians comprise a dwindling fraction of Iraq’s population. During Saddam Hussein’s regime, they numbered 1.4 million; today it is estimated that only 400,000 remain. Many have been killed or have fled the violence.
The Oct. 31 slaughter hit the Chaldean community in Arizona hard. Members of the church are related to some of those killed in the attack. The Scottsdale congregation held a procession and prayer vigil days later, reaching out across the miles with their faith, uniting their broken hearts with those of their brethren across the sea.
Msgr. Shabi understands all too well the pain of such loss. His cousin, Fr. Ragheed Aziz Ganni, was martyred in Mosul in 2007, gunned down along with three sub-deacons as they made their way home from Mass. A beloved archbishop was kidnapped, killed and left in a shallow grave in 2008.
Growing up in Iraq, Msgr. Shabi said he learned early on that violence and death were part of everyday life. He began school on the first day of the Iran-Iraq war.
“Every two weeks, once a month, you have a killed person from your village,” he said. He remembers seeing the funeral processions and people firing their guns into the air.
“We grow up with this culture — every day you have to face death. Every day you have to face martyrdom,” Msgr. Shabi said.
It’s a hard life, filled with pressure, but one that gives birth to a steadfast spirit. “That made us just be so stubborn that we can stay in our land — we can stay in our home and consider that peanuts.”
Nevertheless, many Iraqi Christians are fleeing the violence in their homeland. In the United States, they tend to gather in three states: Michigan, California and Arizona.

Welcoming refugees
Msgr. Shabi’s bishop resides in San Diego, home to 10,000 such Chaldean refugees. At Mar Abraham and Holy Family, those who have been stateside a while help welcome the new arrivals.
Sam Toma, refugee coordinator for the Chaldean Federation of America in Arizona, said the committee works hard to try and meet the needs of the families. They show them around the city, explain American culture and tell them where the Chaldean church is.
“We visit them and bring them to church until they find a job and get a car and a license,” Toma said. “We try to help them with everything.”
It’s a daunting task. Some of the refugees are children who have witnessed unspeakable horrors. They’re in Msgr. Shabi’s first Communion class.
“They tell me, ‘Father, when we used to open the door of our house to go to school, we used to see one leg thrown there, one head thrown there and one arm over there. And we used to close our eyes and just pass by,’” Msgr. Shabi said. “This is torture — this is inhuman. And this is just normal for them, unfortunately, because it became normal.”
He knows the refugees’ material and spiritual needs are many, but he also worries about their psychological well-being. “They need a lot of fraternal attention from the rest of our brothers in Christ,” Msgr. Shabi said.

Challenges
Chaldeans who have found a safe haven in Arizona face ongoing challenges in their new land. At a Thanksgiving party for refugees sponsored by the church Nov. 21, they spoke about some of their difficulties.
Rima Potres belongs to the church’s refugee committee. She translated for Adana Orarh, who arrived from Baghdad in August and, like many newcomers, doesn’t speak English. Orarh said he lost cousins and friends in the violence waged against Christians in his homeland.
Potres said the committee has tried to help Orarh, who suffers from heart trouble and is the father of four young children. Back home in Baghdad, he was a construction worker but he hasn’t been able to find a job in Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Arabic-speaking Jehovah’s Witnesses and Evangelicals have been vigorously proselytizing the refugees, Msgr. Shabi said. They plan fun activities for them, building relationships and giving them rides to these other churches.
“I give them credit because they are doing the job of the Good Samaritan,” Msgr. Shabi conceded. But it worries him. He’s trying to hold the struggling Catholic community together.
The garage at his rectory is so full of furniture he’s collected for the refugees that he can’t even park his car inside. Each new family receives a picture of Jesus and Mary, tea tables and a vacuum.
He also gives them two copies of a booklet, “Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth,” one in English and the other in Arabic. He translated the book himself, convinced his flock must be armed with the essentials of the faith.
And while those who make it to America face steep challenges, Chaldeans here fret about their fellow Christians still in Iraq.

Ongoing persecution
Nidal Shabilla said many can’t get visas or don’t have the means to escape. She came to the United States as a teenager when her father realized Iraq’s future was grim.
Shabilla said that after the Oct. 31 attack, terrorists issued a memo stating that all Christians were in immediate danger. They then blew up 35 homes, killing many. The media, she said, continues to ignore the plight of the Iraqi Christians.
Two Christian brothers, 40 and 43, were killed Nov. 23 at their shop and an elderly Christian woman was strangled in her home in Mosul, Shabilla added.
“The conditions in Iraq that our Christian brothers and sisters are living in are just horrible,” Shabilla said. “People just knock on your door in the middle of the night and say, ‘Get the hell out.’ And you’d better get out because they either want you to convert your religion to Muslim or suffer death. There is no way out.”
Matthew Shabilla, her husband, holds out hope for peace.
“Evangelizing — that’s the only solution. None of the other things will work,” Matthew said. “That is the message — win them for Christ.”
At Mar Abraham in Scottsdale, Msgr. Shabi pointed out a Gospel verse painted in Aramaic over the church’s altar. The verse sums up the Christian response to terror and persecution: “Love one another.” ✴

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix

“A powerful reminder that we live in the greatest age of martyrdom in Christian history and a moving lesson in the universality of the Church.”

“Joyce has accomplished something so powerful in “A Martyr’s Crown.”  Firstly she has helped to shine a badly needed spotlight on the very real and  unfortunately ongoing religious persecution of our Chaldean brothers and sisters. Secondly through her gifted story telling she challenges  all of us who claim to be Christian to ask ourselves a crucial question:  Where would our own faith be if we were put in similar situations?”

Father John Auther, SJ

“Joyce Coronel is not Chaldean. She has never lived in Iraq. Although the events in her book A Martyr’s Crown are fictionalized, she captures the essence of the religious persecution Christians in Iraq have endured as if she too suffered the same pain.”

A couple weeks ago,  I was talking with them about how Jesus teaches us to forgive those who have hurt or mistreated us.

“Have any of you ever been mistreated by someone?” I asked them.

Three of the kids don’t speak much English, but Angel, the lady who teaches with me, asked them the question in Arabic.

Two of the kids looked down and mumbled something in response.

“What did they say?” I asked Angel.

“They said that yes, they were mistreated back home in Iraq,” she told me.

Now here I was, thinking that they were going to tell me about a bully at school or how a brother or sister broke their toy.

It was yet another reminder of the extraordinary nature of this apostolate, this bridge-building between East and West.

 Nativity set made by First Communion Chaldean students