On June 12, President Masoud Barzani welcomed Baghdad’s decision to recognize Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako as the Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church.
Message of President @masoud_barzani
— KDP ForeignRelations (@kdpfro) June 12, 2024
The decision to return the seat of the Chaldean Patriarch of Iraq and the World is a right and appropriate step and I praise PM Mohammed Shia Sudani, Prime Minister of Iraq for this decision. pic.twitter.com/SqQ6eOTk4p
On June 5, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al Sudani reinstated Cardinal Sako as the patriarch of Chaldeans in Iraq and the world.
“The decision to return the seat of the Chaldean Patriarch of Iraq and the World is a right and appropriate step and I praise PM Mohammed Shia Sudani, Prime Minister of Iraq for this decision,” President Masoud Barzani said in a post on X.
On July 12, 2023, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked Decree 147, an executive order issued by former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani in 2013 that had recognized the appointment of Cardinal Sako as the patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, arguing that the decree was unconstitutional.
On November 16, 2023, the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq dismissed Cardinal Sako’s lawsuit challenging Iraqi President Rashid’s decision.
We warmly welcome Patriarch Louis Sako to Erbil, the capital of peaceful coexistence for all religions and groups.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) July 22, 2023
The Kurdistan Region, and the alchemy of coexistence that thrives here, is a source of pride to us all.
We condemn the treatment directed towards the Patriarch.
Read More: Kurdistan Region Welcomes Chaldean Church Leader
In July 2023, Cardinal Sako decided to move from Baghdad to Erbil, where was warmly welcomed by several senior Kurdish leaders, including Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani.
In April 2024, Cardinal Sako returned to Baghdad on the invitation of Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani.
On June 11, Mohammed Salih, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Kurdistan Chronicle that the decision to reinstate Cardinal Sako as the Chaldean Patriarch was a “blow to both the Federal Supreme Court and Iraqi President Rashid, who had earlier removed Cardinal Sako from that position.”
“This order is important as it seeks to appease Cardinal Sako, the Vatican, and Iraqi Christians, and is another example of circumventing the Federal Supreme Court.”
IMPORTANT Iraq development:
— Mohammed A. Salih (@MohammedASalih) June 11, 2024
PM Sudani has issued a Diwani Order (the equivalent of an executive order) reinstating Cardinal Louis Sako as the Chaldean Patriarch of Iraq & the World.
This is a blow to both Federal Supreme Court (FSC) & President Rashid who had earlier removed… https://t.co/GqF4OrwRex
