PM Barzani receives Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday in Erbil received Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq and the World, after the clergyman had to leave Baghdad due to mounting political pressure.
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rasheed in July revoked a 2013 presidential decree, which had recognized Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako as the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church and custodian of the church's assets, saying the earlier decision was not “legally based.”
The new decision has drawn widespread condemnations from Christians in Iraq and abroad, fearing the revocation is part of the long-standing campaign against the dwindling community.
Prime Minister Barzani expressed his concerns regarding the decree, hoping the “mistake to be rectified,” according to a statement from the Premier’s office.
PM Barzani said the Kurdistan Region would remain a center for protecting the rights of all the religious and ethnic groups and continue to support the Christian community that has faced unjust discrimination by “irresponsible entities."
The premier also said his government would oppose “forced demographic change,” per the press release.
Arriving in Kurdistan Region in late July, Cardinal Sako expressed his gratitude to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for the support and warm greeting he had received, according to the press release.
The top religious leader also hailed the peaceful coexistence in the Kurdistan Region, it added.
The revocation came after a period of tension between the Church’s leader and Rayan al-Kildani, the leader of Babylon Movement, a Christian political party close to Iranian-backed militia groups in Iraq. The Babylon Movement is closely related to the Babylonian Brigades, which has been regarded as the militant wing of the movement.
The two leaders have recently engaged in a war of words, accusing each other of exploiting the minority group, whose population has dramatically dwindled in Iraq.
Al-Kildani heads the 50th Brigade of the Shiite militias, known as Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF). The U.S. Treasury designated al-Kildani for “serious human rights abuses” on July 18, 2019.
His party owns four out of five parliamentary seats allocated for minority groups in the 329-seat Iraqi parliament.
Thousands of members of the Christian faith have left Iraq since 2003 due to sectarian strife, terrorism, and most recently the ISIS takeover of their lands in Nineveh Plain. Kurdistan Region has hosted a significant number of the displaced community.
In his visit to the Kurdish region in 2021, Pope Francis hailed the Region’s stance during the challenging times to host the vulnerable population.
