The crisis of Cardinal Louis Sako and the Iraqi president… Will it affect the situation of Christians?
The decision of Iraqi President Abd al-Latif Rashid to withdraw the Republican decree appointing Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako as patriarch of the Chaldean Church in Iraq did not end the current Christian crisis in the country, in light of the escalation practiced by the leader of the Christian “Babylon” militia backed by the “Popular Mobilization”, Rayan Chaldean, who aspires to reduce Christian political and religious representation to it, especially the Christian Endowment Department of the Religious Endowments Authority.
Yesterday, Monday, the crisis resumed in Iraq, after the visit of the Chargé d’Affairs of the Vatican Embassy to Baghdad, which created another problem, which is conflicting data on the visit, not to mention the emergence of signs of anger among the Christians of Baghdad and Mosul at this presidential decision.
Yesterday, Monday, the media office of the Presidency of the Republic of Iraq distributed a statement about the meeting between the Iraqi president and the Chargé d’Affaires of the Vatican Embassy, Father Charles Luanga Suona, in which it stated, “The Vatican Embassy does not have any observations on the procedures of the Presidency of the Republic regarding the withdrawal of the Republican Decree of Cardinal Louis Sako.” .
Hours later, however, the Vatican embassy responded with a statement denying the Iraqi president, saying that it “regrets the misunderstanding and inappropriate handling regarding the role of His Beatitude Patriarch Mar Louis Sako as guardian of the property of the Chaldean Church, in addition to some biased and misleading reports on this issue, which it often ignores.” As a highly regarded religious figure.”
The embassy stated that “the President of the Iraqi Republic requested a meeting with the Chargé d’Affaires of the Apostolic Embassy (Embassy of the Holy See / Vatican) to the Republic of Iraq, Father Charles Luanga Suona, regarding the recent decree regarding His Beatitude Patriarch Louis Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, and Father Suuna stressed that the administration of Church property – as stipulated in the Iraqi constitution – is to be freely continued by the heads of churches and on a practical level, i.e. before Iraqi courts and government offices, while the Apostolic Nunciature does not comment on whether this will be guaranteed by presidential decrees or by any means. Another suitable way,” according to the statement.
In light of this crisis, media channels and platforms close to Iran, some of which are owned by the leader of the “Babylonian” militia, Rayan al-Kaldani, are carrying out a clear attack on Cardinal Sako. This prompted Christians in Baghdad and Mosul to declare a state of solidarity with Sacco, on social media, while some of them spoke of their dissatisfaction with what is happening, and that some of them might consider emigrating to Erbil, at the very least.
Sacco, who chose earlier this week to leave Baghdad for the Kurdistan region, previously spoke of his exposure to constant pressure for political motives, considering the President’s decision “a precedent that did not occur in the history of Iraq.” He also stressed that the Iraqi president’s decision to withdraw the decree from him comes “in fulfillment of his desire.” Rayan al-Kildani, leader of the Babylon faction affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces.
In the context, the director of the “Sorayah” organization, Nawzad Boulos, who is close to Cardinal Sacco, said, “Targeting a religious reference the size of His Beatitude Cardinal Sacco in this way is nothing but a major transgression on the status of the important Christian site among an authentic segment in Iraq. Unfortunately, the The presidential decision was preceded by media campaigns led by satellite channels close to the armed factions and militias against the Cardinal’s status, as if the decision was premeditated and we felt that.
He explained to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “This decision does not only target Sacco, but all Christians in Baghdad and Mosul, as if it were a way to distance Christians from Iraq, and to transform a small group that is popularly rejected, namely the Babylonian group, as an official Christian voice, and this is unacceptable.”
Boulos added, “The Babylonian party has entered into a clear conflict with Sako, and it bears responsibility for what is happening to it now, and the crisis that is passing through the Christian component,” noting that “the decision of the President of the Republic was planned, after meetings that brought him together with a party in the city of Sulaymaniyah with a party.” Babylon, which confirms that it is a political plan and has nothing to do with constitutional matters in that.
On the other hand, the representative of the “Babylon” bloc in the Iraqi parliament, Duraid Jamil, responded to this by saying, “The attack we are being subjected to by His Beatitude Cardinal Sako is unjustified, and we have endured a lot of his media attacks against us, through which he accused us of theft, embezzlement, and harming Christian interests. Despite this, we have not yet responded to him through the media in the same way, but rather we went to the Iraqi judiciary, and we filed a lawsuit, and this is all we did, and nothing more than that.
In an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, he denied any role for the “Babylon” movement in the decision issued by the President of the Republic to withdraw the decision to approve Cardinal Sacco as Patriarch of the Chaldean Church, considering that “the involvement of Babylon in the crisis is madness against it, and we will not accept it, and Cardinal Sacco must To deal with this matter in a manner commensurate with his religious status, and not by attacking a parliamentary bloc and a brigade in the popular crowd, and accusing us of terrorism, because that is a defect in the robes of the church that he wears.
As for the former Christian deputy in the Iraqi parliament, Joseph Saliwa, he pointed out that “Iraqi Christians are the only victims of conflicts between the presidency, parties, and constitutional issues on the one hand, and the position of the patriarch of the Chaldean Church in Iraq, especially since Christians in Iraq suffer from security problems.” And another is related to their political representation, and therefore they are between a rock and a hard place in a conflict in which they have no camel or camel.
He added, in his interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, that “there is a disagreement and conflict between Sacco and the President of the Republic, and this was evident when Cardinal Sacco was forced to prevent the Iraqi President from receiving him in the Vatican and meeting with the Pope earlier, and at the same time, the decision to withdraw the presidential decree is an order.” Not true either.”
The leadership of the Christian situation in Iraq is witnessing a state of conflict between the patriarch of the Chaldean Church, Louis Sako, and the leader of the “Babylon” armed group, Rayan al-Kaldani. During the past months, accusations and statements have been exchanged through the media and press conferences, in a new phase of the struggle over the religious and political status of the component. Christian, who has not been in a good condition since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
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2023-07-18 17:17:35
