BAGHDAD (Agenzia Fides): “We are not a Church of strangers” because “we are the descendants of Abraham the Chaldean, the father of all believers … we are one of the colours of the beautiful Iraqi fabric that must be preserved,” said Louis Raphael Cardinal Sako of Iraq, patriarch of the Chaldean Church, on June 12, in his homily during a Mass celebrated in the Church of Mar Gorgis on the occasion of his return to Baghdad after almost 11 months away from the patriarchate.
In July 2023, Iraq’s president Abdul Latif Rashid had repealed Decree 147—issued by his predecessor, Jalal Talabani, on 10 July 2013—which established the papal appointment of the patriarch as head of the Chaldean Church “in Iraq and in the world” at the level of national legislation and recognised him as “responsible for the property of the Church” [Sunday Examiner, 21 July 2023].
The action triggered a crisis in relations between the Chaldean Patriarchate and the Iraqi political and institutional leadership, prompting Cardinal Sako to leave the patriarchal seat of Baghdad and move to Erbil.
However, things changed on June 12 when Iraqi prime minister, Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani, signed a decree confirming the “appointment” of Cardinal Sako as patriarch of the Chaldean Church, recognising him once again as the one ultimately responsible for the properties and endowments of the patriarchy.
We are not a Church of strangers … we are the descendants of Abraham the Chaldean, the father of all believers … we are one of the colours of the beautiful Iraqi fabric that must be preserved
Louis Raphael Cardinal Sako
On the day of the patriarch’s return, the entire local community, including nuns, priests as well as Bishop Basilius Yaldo and Bishop Shlemon Warduni, gathered around the cardinal.
In his homily, Cardinal Sako thanked God for “putting an end to this difficult period of injustice through the courageous initiative of Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani,” adding that, “The prime minister’s provision gives new confidence to Christians, who have been tested more than once since the fall of the previous regime, and strengthens their hope for a better future.”
The patriarch stressed, “The indigenous Christians of Iraq are not strangers in this blessed land. We are the descendants of those who founded the Mesopotamian civilisation. We are the descendants of the Epic of Gilgamesh with its profound human content, the descendants of Hammurabi, the author of the first law in human history, and the descendants of Abraham the Chaldean, the father of believers in the One God. Our Church is one of the oldest churches.” It is a Church that has always lived in absolute loyalty to the homeland, to which “we have given much.”
He added, “Now we wish that the government negotiates with us on the basis of the principles of citizenship and equality, respects our representation and returns our confiscated homes and property.” Restoring justice to Christians, the cardinal stressed, “can encourage those who have emigrated to return to their country, invest, and create jobs.”
