{"id":15412,"date":"2016-08-08T21:02:00","date_gmt":"2016-08-08T21:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/new-iraqi-priests-bring-joy-amid-years-of-sadness-displacement-52205\/"},"modified":"2016-08-08T21:02:00","modified_gmt":"2016-08-08T21:02:00","slug":"new-iraqi-priests-bring-joy-amid-years-of-sadness-displacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/catholicnews\/2016\/08\/new-iraqi-priests-bring-joy-amid-years-of-sadness-displacement\/","title":{"rendered":"New Iraqi priests bring joy amid years of sadness, displacement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

Erbil, Iraq, Aug 8, 2016 \/ 03:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News<\/a>).- Fr. Roni Salim Momika, one of three priests ordained in an Erbil refugee camp Friday, said the event has turned the dreary mood of displaced Christians into one of joy, which he hopes will give them the strength to stay in their homeland.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy feeling is happy, happy!\u201d Fr. Momika told CNA after his Aug. 5 ordination, adding that he feels \u201csomething inside\u201d that makes him deeply joyful.<\/p>\n

He was ordained a priest of the Syriac-Catholic Church alongside his friends and fellow deacons Emad and Petros in the large, prefabricated church inside Erbil\u2019s Aishty 2 camp for the displaced, which is home to some 5,500 people forced to flee their homes due to ISIS.<\/p>\n

The ordination, he said, \u201cwill give hope to (the people)\u201d in the camp, mostly Syriac Catholics from Qaraqosh, who for two years have been forced to live as refugees after fleeing their homes due to ISIS violence.<\/p>\n

Fr. Momika noted how Aug. 6 marks the exact two-year anniversary since ISIS attacked his hometown of Qaraqosh, driving out inhabitants who didn\u2019t meet their demands to convert to Islam, pay a hefty tax or face death.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe left Qaraqosh during this time two years ago,\u201d he said, explaining that it\u2019s been \u201ca time of challenge\u201d and \u201ca time of sadness\u201d for the Christians.<\/p>\n

However, while the anniversary could serve as a reminder of the bleak and uncertain reality for Christians in Iraq, the sight of three young men being ordained to the priesthood has instead made it \u201ca happy time, a hopeful time, and a good time,\u201d Fr. Momica said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore it was a bad day because we became refuges and ISIS entered to Qaraqosh, but now this day became a good day because it\u2019s our ordination and we give hope to our people,\u201d including the hope \u201cto stay here,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Fr. Momika, Emad, Petros and another seminarian named Paul were all forced to flee Qaraqosh when ISIS attacked.<\/p>\n

Before being forced to leave Qaraqosh, Momica and his sister were among the victims wounded in a 2010 bombing of buses transporting mainly Christian college students from the Plains of Nineveh to the University of Mosul, where they were enrolled in classes.<\/p>\n

Since the Qaraqosh seminary was closed following the 2014 attack, the then-seminarians were sent to finish their studies at the Al-Sharfa Seminary in Harissa, Lebanon. After completing their studies in Lebanon, they returned to Iraq for their deaconate ordination, which took place March 19.<\/p>\n

Since then Paul decided to serve in Baghdad, and was ordained there roughly 20 days ago, while Fr. Momika and the others were ordained in Erbil.<\/p>\n

Archbishop Yohanno Petros Moshe, Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Mosul, Kirkuk and Kurdistan, the priests\u2019 bishop, was the one who celebrated their ordination Mass in the Aishty camp.<\/p>\n

Fr. Momika, whose family fled to Erbil after leaving Qaraqosh, said that while the church only has a capacity of about 800 people, about 1,500 showed up for the ordination.<\/p>\n

Several of his family members were able to come for the ordination, his father, sister and many others who traveled from Baghdad, Aqrah and other cities to be there.<\/p>\n

Until now Fr. Momika has worked with the youth and led the women\u2019s groups inside Erbil\u2019s refugee camps. The priest said that for now he will remain in Erbil and continue to serve in that capacity, but it\u2019s up to Archbishop Moshe to decide \u201cif I will stay here or not\u201d in the long run.<\/p>\n

As a newly ordained priest surrounded by violent persecution, Fr. Momika said that he wants \u201cto stand with the refugees\u201d despite the \u201cthe danger (in their) lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said he wants to give the Christians \u201cpower, hope, and courage to continue their lives and stay with the poor people\u201d and those who are suffering, adding that for him, the essence of his role and vocation is \u201cto give Christ to the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/a>\n<\/div>\n

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Erbil, Iraq, Aug 8, 2016 \/ 03:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Fr. Roni Salim Momika, one of three priests ordained in an Erbil refugee camp Friday, said the event has turned the dreary mood of displaced Christians into one of joy, which he hopes will give them…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east-africa"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Iraqi priests bring joy amid years of sadness, displacement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Erbil, Iraq, Aug 8, 2016 \/ 03:02 pm (CNA\/EWTN News).- Fr. 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