KDP President Masoud Barzani offered me substantial support: Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq and worldwide, in a press conference on Monday told Kurdistan24 that Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani and the Kurdistan Region have offered him substantial support.

“When al-Qaeda and later ISIS attacked Christians in different parts of Iraq, the Iraqi government did not provide any assistance to protect and accommodate them,” the Cardinal stated.

He also revealed that they went to the Iraqi prime minister and asked for help, but the prime minister told them that they didn't have enough money to provide assistance.

Cardinal Sako emphasized that his return to Baghdad was supported by the Kurdistan Region and initiated by Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, with the added factor of international pressure.

“The Iraqi president is responsible for the situation that is now working against him. Meanwhile, the Iraqi Premier is working towards resolving the country's problems and restoring respect for Christians,” he told Kurdistan24.

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rasheed in July 2023 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 condemnation from Christians in Iraq and abroad, fearing the revocation is part of the long-standing campaign against the dwindling community.

Read More: Christians in Kurdistan Region protest Iraq’s presidential decree