Red Hat

It was interesting to hear over the weekend that the Pope had elevated the the Patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans to the rank of cardinal. Rather like the Maronites of Lebanon, the Chaldeans, of whom I don't think I have previously heard, are an Eastern Rite in full communion with the Catholic Church.

It is just another fact to file away to remind ourselves of the complexity and richness of the real world compared to the banality and simplification of what passes itself off as news reporting and "opinion".

I've also read that:

Jews have lived in Baghdad for thousands of years. Less than a century ago, fully one quarter of the city's entire population was Jewish and there can be no question but that Jews have played an important roles in the city's economic and cultural development. That, however, may be coming to an end. There are only about two dozen Jews in the community now and they will probably leave soon.

Note to self: I understand nothing whatsoever about how and why that extraordinary change occurred. It seems almost inconceivable. What percentage was Jewish 75 years ago, or 50, or 25?