Vatican to appoint new Iraqi cardinal
The Vatican will inaugurate the Chaldean Patriarch of Iraq, Louis Raphael I Sako, as cardinal, which will strengthen the status of Christians in Iraq and bring them more global support.
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Christian leader, Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, accompanied by a delegation from the Iraqi Chaldean Church, headed to Rome on June 25, where he will become a cardinal on June 28.
This major development will allow Iraq to have a say in choosing the next pope and give the country the chance to voice its aspirations to the international community, which may be a decisive factor in bringing Christians together around unified demands.
In this context, the Rev. Amir Jaji Dominican, an adviser to the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, told Al-Monitor that Sako’s inauguration “is morally important to support the demands of Iraqi Christians, especially since becoming a cardinal comes with the right to vote and be nominated in the cardinals' congregation to choose a new pope.”
On June 28, Sako will become the third Iraqi cardinal, following in the footsteps of Cardinal Tabouni, Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church, and Sako’s predecessor Cardinal Emmanuel Delly, Patriarch of the Chaldeans.
