Christians in Iraq are hopeful that new Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako will stem the tide of Iraqi Christians leaving the country.
Since 2003, Iraqi Christians have been subject to attacks by groups labelled as terrorist organizations. Thousands of families have been forced to leave their homes in central and southern Iraq for the Nineveh plains or cities in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Others emigrated to Europe, the US, Canada and Australia. Christian statistics show that 15,000 families have left the center and the south, heading toward Iraqi Kurdistan or abroad.
On Feb. 4, Sako, chairman of the Chaldean archbishops in Kirkuk and Sulaymaniyah, was appointed patriarch of the Chaldean Church in Iraq and around the world, succeeding Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, who resigned from the post in December at the age of 85. Upon his return from Rome, official ceremonies were held for him in the predominantly Christian town of Ankawa, in the city of Erbil and in the city of Kirkuk, where he was warmly welcomed by citizens waving olive branches and images of the Virgin Mary. Many of them hope that Sako will bring back security and safety.
Christians in Iraq numbered 800,000 in 2003, according to statistics from global and international organizations. Their presence is concentrated in the capital, Baghdad, and in the Nineveh plains, near Mosul. They are also found in Dohuk, Erbil, Mosul, Basra, Amarah, Hillah, Baqubah, Habbaniyah and Kirkuk, among others.
In his first press statement, Sako said that "priests should set an example for us, we should not only seek their safety," especially "at this critical moment that Iraq is going through." He added that "the next Synod of the Chaldean Church will be held in Baghdad and I personally asked all other bishops, including those in the diaspora, not to miss it.”
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