A well loved figure on the Chaldean Catholic Church died on17th July 2010 in hospital at Erbil the capital of Northern Iraq. The bishop was 67 years old and suffered from kidney problems. He had an operation earlier in the year, but suffered a relapse. “His death is a great loss to the Iraqui Church”, Bishop Shlemon Warduni, Patriarchal Vicar of Iraq stated.”
Mgr.Abouna was in charge of the Youth movement of the Chaldean Catholic Church”. The Chaldean Patriarch, His Beatitude Emmanuel III Delly of Babylon presided at his funeral in St. Joseph`s Cathedral, Erbil.
Mgr. Abouna was a man who was always smiling, always cheerful and a great friend in difficult circumstances. He looked after his priests and had a great commitment to Christian Unity. He was born in 1943 in the Northern Iraqui village of Bedar, At the age of 14 he entered seminary and was ordained in 1966. After serving for 24 years in Iraq and then was posted to London where he led the Chaldean and Syrian Catholic community for 11 years, being resident in Hanwell, West London, living very close to the former home of Lady Surma d`bait Mar Shimun, the late Patriarch of the Assyrians, Mar Eshai Shmun XXIII.
On 11th November 2002 he was named Auxiliary Bishop of Baghdad, which had become a hotbed of violence against the Christian communities so that many Christians left the country. Mgr.Abouna remained in place.
The Aid to the Church in Need helped to pay for the bishop's health care; and Marie-Ange Siebrecht, the ACN co-ordinator for Iraq said: "he was a very kind person and had great concern for the priests and seminarians he was in charge of. Especially in Baghdad he played a great role among the priests to try show there is a future in their country”.
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