Home » News » Patriarch Sako leaves Baghdad in response to Iraqi president.

Patriarch Sako leaves Baghdad in response to Iraqi president.

His Eminence Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, Patriarch and the leader of the Chaldean Church, has publicly announced his decision to “withdraw from the patriarchal seat in Baghdad, and go from where I am currently in Istanbul, on a church, mission, to one of the monasteries in Iraqi Kurdistan”.

The announcement was made in a statement sent to the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and published in Arabic on the official website of the Chaldean Patriarchate, today 15 July.

The cardinal thus reacts to “all the fateful events” and the “deliberate and humiliating campaign” against him in recent days and to “the president of the republic’s decision to withdraw the republican decree from me, which is unprecedented in the history of Iraq”, Sako stated.

The current President of the Republic of Iraq has chosen to rescind a Republican Decree established earlier by former President Jalal Talabani. This decree had recognised His Eminence Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako as Patriarch and leader of the Chaldean Church. The justification for this action was that it has no constitutional or legal basis.

The decision to leave Baghdad has also been backed by “the absence of any deterrent against offenders” and “government silence”, stated the document.

Cardinal Sako also described the decision of the president as an act “against the Christian community, that suffered a lot”. On Monday, Patriarch Sako had already written an open letter to President Rashid, describing the latter’s decision as an unprecedented “danger” against the Christian community in Iraq. He also warned that if the president did not withdraw his decision, he would file a legal case against it.

Don't miss the latest updates!

Gaza: First step towards peace after 733 days of war

While indirect talks are taking place in Egypt between Israeli…

Rome to host official launch of Religious Freedom Report 2025

Religious and public leaders will be gathering on October 21…

Papal envoy carries solidarity to the Christians of war-torn Sudan

Archbishop Séamus Patrick Horgan, Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan, has…

In the east of Burkina Faso, still many problems as term starts

While the security situation in Burkina Faso has improved slightly,…

From Angola to Vietnam, enthusiasm with “One million children praying the Rosary” campaign

ACN’s yearly campaign, added to the Holy Father’s appeal to…

Church clings to life amid chaos in Gaza

Aid to the Church in Need echoes Pope Leo XIV’s…

List of News

Gaza: First step towards peace after 733 days of war

While indirect talks are taking place in Egypt between Israeli envoys and Hamas, the hope for a beginning of peace is cautiously laying roots in the diocese of the Holy...

Fr Hugo Alaniz recounts a night of explosions and fear in Aleppo: “People are very afraid, we don’t know what is going to happen”

In the midst of a new wave of fighting, the Argentine priest describes hours of anguish in Aleppo. His parish has once again become a refuge for dozens of families....

Rome to host official launch of Religious Freedom Report 2025

Religious and public leaders will be gathering on October 21 at the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome for the worldwide presentation of the latest edition of the Report on...