Nechirvan Barzani Calls The President Barzani's Award "Global Recognition of Kurdistan's Culture of Coexistence"
Chaldean Cardinal Louis Sako personally presents the Pope's high-ranking decoration to President Barzani on Thursday, as Kurdistan Region President praises the distinction as a tribute to the Kurdish people's enduring commitment to tolerance and pluralism
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani sent a congratulatory message on Friday to President Masoud Barzani on the occasion of his receiving the Vatican's highest papal honor, describing the distinction as an important global recognition of Masoud Barzani's historic and visible role in protecting the rights of religious and national components in Kurdistan and Iraq.
The decoration was presented in person on Thursday when Cardinal Louis Sako, the Honorary Cardinal of the Chaldean Church, visited President Masoud Barzani and awarded him the high-ranking Vatican papal decoration on behalf of His Holiness Pope Francis.
Cardinal Sako expressed his appreciation for President Barzani's role in deepening the values of coexistence, humanity, strengthening peace, and stability in Kurdistan, Iraq, and the wider region. He also expressed gratitude for President Barzani's historic role in protecting the Christian community and all other national and religious components of Kurdistan and Iraq.
In his congratulatory message, Nechirvan Barzani described the honor as a source of pride for the Kurdistan Region and as recognition of the culture of coexistence, mutual acceptance, and tolerance as defining characteristics of Kurdistan's society, as well as of the human values that the Kurdish people have always been committed to and proud to uphold and protect.
"This recognition is a source of pride for the Kurdistan Region and recognition of the culture of coexistence, mutual acceptance, and tolerance as a characteristic of Kurdistan's society, as well as of the human values of our people who have always been committed to and proud of protecting them," Nechirvan Barzani wrote.
The Kurdistan Region President reaffirmed that the Kurdistan Region will, as always, remain a peaceful and protected homeland for all its components, and will continue to defend the plurality, rights, and freedoms of everyone, in the interest of further consolidating the foundations of peace and mutual respect in the region.
The Vatican's decision to award its highest papal honor to President Masoud Barzani reflects a relationship between the Holy See and the Kurdistan Region's leadership that has grown increasingly significant since the Christian communities of the Nineveh Plain and other parts of Iraq were displaced by ISIS in 2014 and found refuge in the Kurdistan Region. The KRG's decision at that time to open its doors to Christians, Yazidis, and other persecuted minorities was widely praised by religious and humanitarian organizations worldwide, and has been repeatedly cited by church leaders as evidence of the Kurdistan Region's genuine commitment to pluralism and protection of minorities.
Cardinal Sako, as the spiritual leader of one of the oldest Christian communities in the world and a figure of immense moral authority in the region, has consistently spoken of the Kurdistan Region and its leadership as a model for minority protection in the broader Middle East, and his personal delivery of the Vatican's highest honor to Masoud Barzani on Thursday gives that longstanding relationship its most visible and formal expression yet.