Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, patriarch and leader of the Chaldean Church, announced his public decision to withdraw from the Patriarchal See in Baghdad and move to Istanbul, where Currently found « in the churchMission, in one of the monasteries of Iraqi Kurdistan ». The communication was conveyed in an email sent to Church Aid in Suffering and posted in Arabic at: The official website of the Patriarchate Chaldean. The Cardinal thus responds to “all the fatal events” and the “deliberate and humiliating campaign” against him in recent days, and in particular to the “president’s decision to withdraw the decree from me, which is unprecedented in the history of Iraq.” Sacco said.

The head of state, Abd al-Latif Rashid, chose to revoke the recognition of Jalal Talabani, who recognized the Cardinal as patriarch and leader of the Chaldean Church, For this, responsible of church property. The selection was justified on the basis of a lack of constitutional recognition. “Withdrawing – Rasheed said – does not affect the religious or legal status of Patriarch Sako.” For the latter, however, the chief’s action was an action “against the Christian community, which has suffered so much.” So, on Monday, the cardinal wrote to the president urging them to change his decision, otherwise he would have filed a legal case. Moreover, the dispute is fair The latest chapter in a series of attacks against the most respected and trusted figure in the Chaldean Church in Iraq. So much so that in recent weeks many Christians have raised their voices to denounce the series of lies that have been spread against the Cardinal.