Ishtartv.com - Media of the Chaldean Patriarchate
His Beatitude Patriarch Louis
Raphael Cardinal Sako led an ecumenical prayer for peace, safety and stability
in Iraq. The event was organized by the Chaldean Patriarchate at St. Joseph
Cathedral in Baghdad on Monday the 4th of November 2019 and themed “O Lord of
Peace, Grant our Iraq Peace”.
The program included a minute of
silence in memory of the innocent casualties of protesters and security forces
and also for the speedy recovery of the injured. While prayers involved, hymns,
psalms, a reading from the Gospel of Matthew Beatitudes, religious songs etc.
Faithful carried candles and wore the Iraqi flag.
The prayer was attended by Bishop
Yousif Abba; auxiliary bishops: Shlemon Warduni, Basilios Yaldo and Robert
Saeed Jarjis; Fr Alfred Younan; a group of priests, nuns and a large gathering
of faithful in spite of transportations difficulty and closed roads.
Below is the address of His
Beatitude Sako:
Address of the Ecumenical Prayers
Gathering
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
We gathered this evening to pray
for Iraq in order to come out of the current crisis fully recovered and to
restore its normal life in sovereignty, unity, security, stability and wealth.
Our hearts are “sore” for what is happening to our country and our citizens,
without exception. Let us all stand for a minute of silence to pay tribute to
the innocent souls of casualties of both protesters and security forces. Let us
pray also for the speedy recovery of the injured, that the blood they shed on
this “holy” land will be a motive for reconciliation and radical positive
change.
These young people went out to
the streets demanding their rights because they found themselves heading to “no
through road”, expressing their pain. Where there is a shortage in services, in
electricity and water etc. The same thing applies to health and educational
institutions, streets, and employability. In fact, whoever take away these
fundamental rights from his citizens commits an unforgivable sin. No matter how
they categorize it.
Corruption and sectarianism are
the major cause for the deterioration of the situation, dividing the country
and creating such absurd conflicts. The most awful thing is that everyone is
talking about this phenomenon starting from officials in the Government, but none
of them dare to eradicate this “cancer”. That is how people lose confident and
came out to the street demanding their “stolen” rights in a peaceful way.
Protesters managed to overcome sectarian barriers and restore their national
identity, which is by itself a remarkable achievement, since no one is greater
than Iraq. This is what we have seen during our visit to Tahrir Square in the
late afternoon of Saturday 2 November 2019, where we were all citizens with one
concern, of caring about Iraq, we were impressed with how protesters look at
each other, as brothers belonging to the same country raising a slogan of “We
want a homeland!!” This national unity ascended from their shared pain and
should be the basis for building “tomorrow’s” Iraq.
From this platform, we invite the
Iraqi political officials to listen to the “shout” of protesting daughters and
sons in a constructive and responsible spirit. We also, call them to respond
effectively with a humbleness of the brave men to speed up the adoption of
appropriate decisions to protect Iraq, promote its’ economy and services, after
the dilemma of poverty, pain and waiting.
As we salute our sisters and
brothers from all Iraqi ethnicities, we call upon them with great care and love
to exercise wisdom in order to keep their protest peaceful, away from
incitement and all forms of threats or violence. We also call on all media
“networks” to emphasize cohesion among citizens.
In closing, we pay special
tribute to our security forces, reminding them to embrace the march of their
people towards a more stable and prosperous tomorrow.
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