ON FAITH/POLITICS/WORLDY ISSUES

Pope Francis in Iraq ~ Cardinal Sako per : http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/events/event.dir.html/content/vaticanevents/en/2021/3/6/iraq-santamessa.html

Holy Mass at the Chaldean Cathedral of “Saint Joseph” in Baghdad

Cardinal Sako: English Translation:

Cardinal Sako – “Your Holiness all my words cannot express the joy and gratitude and all the joy and gratitude of the Christians and Iraqis for your courageous visit, especially for the fact that it comes at such exceptional circumstances due to the disputes and crisis in which our countries and those in the world are living. Your presence among us as a pilgrim praying for a more humane, fraternal solidarity, peaceful world fills us with hope.  We thank God for the grace and the charism you bring for everyone’s benefit.  You tirelessly proclaim the need to remove barriers among us. To be brothers not enemies.  We are not enemies, we are diverse, but all of us are brothers and sisters, in a united human family.  May God Bless You Holy Father and may the culture of accepting one another to construct a sustainable Peace...all of this to arrive at dignity, justice, and equality for everyone. 

Just as I read in the document on Human Fraternity, that you signed with the Grand Imam of Alazaar, which represents a turning point in Christian, Muslim relations...as also this morning, as you met with the Great Ayatollah in Najaf, promoting the values of coexistence and for diversity and pluralism.  Also going in that direction is your encyclical “Fratelli Tutti,” in which you present an ambitions and courageous vision for our time yes. You Holy Father, all parties should consider ourselves members of the family, as we see all of ourselves here United, to take care of the common home in solidarity and contribute toward moving out of these crises such as: the pandemic, poverty, immigration, extremism, terrorism, and environmental problems... to carry out this vital project ...a spiritual and moral awakening is necessary. To overcome all these challenges.  Your Holiness, this common identity of all humanity, the entire human family does not threaten have different religious identities, and even though there are differences, but rather, enriches their salvation and can teach our children and young people to be capable of welcoming of dialogue of mutual understanding, to practice tolerance, charity, goodness, peace, and respect for life and the environment. Thanks to this formation they are the future generation and they will have a creative impact in society. Your Holiness, this historic visit encourages Iraqis to overcome the painful past, the view to national reconciliation, to heal wounds...to grow in peace and stability ...simply because they are brothers and sisters with a different backgrounds and citizens of the land of Abraham because Iraq is their common home.... 

For us Christians this visit is an opportunity to begin our own pilgrimage to our First Roots.  We are proud of our identity.  It is a time of steadfastness and fidelity in the footsteps of Abraham, Our Father...who is love, yet he was faithful...he was patient...and in the footsteps of St. Thomas, the apostle of our country who – with his act of adoration and fervorous words “My Lord and My God” - your words will not go unnoticed but they will leave a mark on our church, and our country.  Our presence as Christians in our Iraq and in the East, didn’t happen by chance but according to a divine plan, a mission, a vocation we have that we cannot renounce.  As Pastors we must understand the reality in which we live in order to reorganize things...to adapt Christian life to our present needs, maintaining and rooting ourselves in our Oriental identity...that is drawing from the Source and Not from the streams. In being inspired by the instruction...pastoral conversion of the Parish community which states that evangelization is the Gospel..that needs to lead us... with you we pray within this mass that all these intentions that have been mentioned in these days ...that they may all become a reality, .  When you have said I am the servant of all Iraqis.

Thank you to everyone, who have contributed to the preparation of this blessed visit...beginning with the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister....Thank you for the presence of leaders and authority as a sign of solidarity and unity...which is the heritage of our country...and I cite in particular the Sunni and Shi’ite leaders... I also thank the governor of the Iraqi Kurdistan which will take place tomorrow and at Erbil.  Thank you Holy Father, Thank you to everyone. ~ The Greeting of the Patriach of the Chaldeans in Baghdad ...Cardinal Sako” …. created a Cardinal by Pope Francis in the Consistory of June 2018