Local priest knew abducted archbishop

By Laureen McMahon

Chaldean Catholics in the Vancouver Archdiocese remain deeply shocked as they continue to mourn the murder of Iraqi Chaldean Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho.

Four days after hearing of his death on March 13, Baghdad-born Chaldean-rite priest Father Sarmed Biloues, who knew Archbishop Rahho personally, offered a Memorial Mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Surrey for the repose of the soul of the 65-year-old slain prelate.

The Chaldean Catholic community assembled for the Stations of the Cross, reported to be the last act of Archbishop Rahho in his church in Mosul before he was kidnapped on Feb. 29.

"It helped us feel closer to him," explained Father Biloues.

After Mass, they gathered to pray and support each other as

`Man of peace and dialogue': Pope

they have done many times before in the aftermath of countless tragedies which are tearing Iraq and the Iraqi people apart.

"It is another blow," said Father Biloues, who is grieving the end of a friendship which began when he was an 18-year-old seminary student in Baghdad.

"He had a wonderful personality and was joyful all the time. He had a special rapport with the young, always calling them the future of the Church. He prayed all the time."

Archbishop Rahho was, said Father Biloues, a peacemaker and a man of reconciliation who specially cared for the handicapped and the growing numbers of those mutilated in the war.

"He gathered 400 young people in his parish to help care for the poor, the sick, and homeless. He said that it was where we would all find Jesus."

The heartless destruction of Iraq, and now the killing of a beloved archbishop, have devastated Iraqi Christians, said the priest.

"Our churches are bombed and our people threatened. They're murdering priests and driving Christians from Iraq."

On March 17, Pope Benedict XVI offered a Memorial Mass for Archbishop Rahho, whom he described as a "man of peace and dialogue." The archbishop's example, he hoped, "would give strength and support to all Iraqis of good will, Christians and Muslims, to build a peaceful co-existence."

The archbishop's body was unceremoniously dumped into a hastily dug grave after his death while he was being held. He was forcibly abducted from the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul on Feb. 29. His driver and two bodyguards were killed immediately.

Father Biloues, who was ordained in 1999, said he escaped to Syria in 2004 after receiving death threats. After joining his mother and father in Vancouver, he was appointed to serve the Chaldean Catholic community. Each Sunday he offers a 3 p.m. Mass in the Chaldean rite at OLGC. The rest of the week is spent learning English and helping the growing number of Iraqi immigrants.

There was a time, said Father Biloues, when Iraq, although subject to the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein, was much safer for Christians.

"The Iraqi police and the army protected Christians, but when the American army arrived, they all dispersed. Now people are hiding in their homes and families have even starved to death for fear of being killed if they venture out.

"We are suffering terrorist attacks from fanatics who may not even be Iraqi but who have infiltrated the country since the war began. This is who we have to fear now.

"We are thankful to those Vancouver parishes who have welcomed Iraqi immigrants, and we are grateful for the prayers of the Catholic community."