ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the Chaldean Patriarch in Iraq and the world, said on Tuesday that he has submitted his resignation to the pope.
"Yesterday morning, March 9, 2026, I decided, in full freedom, to submit it [resignation] to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, so that I may quietly dedicate myself to prayer, writing, and simple service. He accepted it, and I requested that it be officially announced today at noon, March 10," said the cardinal in a statement.
He added that when he turned 75 two years ago, he began thinking about resigning but was convinced by the late Pope Francis to remain.
Cardinal Sako clarified that he was not forced to resign but is doing it willingly.
"I led the Chaldean Church under extremely difficult circumstances and amid great challenges. I preserved the unity of its institutions and spared no effort in defending it and the rights of Iraqis and Christians, taking positions and maintaining a presence both inside and outside the country. My 13 years as Patriarch were years of loving pastoral care, follow-up, and growing up," he said.
In December, Sako came under criticism for using the word “normalization” during a Christmas celebration in Baghdad—a term widely associated with normalizing relations with Israel and prohibited under Iraqi law.
He also had tensions with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, who in 2023 revoked a special presidential decree formally recognizing Cardinal Sako and granting him powers over Christian endowment affairs, citing constitutional grounds. The move angered the religious leader and the Christian community in Iraq.
Rashid’s decision came after he met with Rayan al-Kildani, leader of the nominally Christian Babylon Movement, a party and militia affiliated with the pro-Iran Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Weeks after Rashid’s decision, Sako left the patriarchal residence in Baghdad and relocated to the Kurdistan Region’s capital of Erbil.
Late last year, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani reinstated Sako as the Chaldean Patriarch in Iraq. Sudani stated in a letter that he made the decision to designate Cardinal Sako as the Chaldean Patriarch in Iraq and the world based on the constitution and a 2013 court ruling.
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