The Chaldean Catholic Church cancelled all public Easter celebrations in Iraq—apart from the liturgical ceremonies of the Easter Triduum—in a protest against the government’s refusal to recognize Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako as legal head of the Church.
The Chaldean Patriarch has been living in Kurdistan since last July, when President Abdul Latif Rashid revoked the decree recognizing him as legal head of the Church. That decree had ensured the Patriarch’s control over properties owned by the Chaldean Church. The revocation of the decree was seen as a victory for the leaders of the Babylon Brigades, a militia group with links to Iran, which claims to represent Catholic interests in Iraq.