Chaldean Patriarchate addresses “normalization” remarks

Shafaq News – Baghdad

The Chaldean Patriarchate clarified on Wednesday that remarks made by Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako during a Christmas Mass in Baghdad, in which he used the term “normalization,” had been misunderstood and taken out of context.

In a statement, the Patriarchate said Patriarch Sako stressed that “normalization should be with Iraq, not with any other country,” explaining that “Abraham was Iraqi, and Iraq is a land of religions and home to many prophets.” It added that Sako clarified his remarks in a televised interview, saying that encouraging countries to engage with Iraq, as a land of civilizations and the homeland of Abraham, would help boost tourism.

Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani responded to the remarks, saying the term “normalization” does not exist in Iraq’s political dictionary, in reference to normalization with Israel. The use of the word sparked political reactions, most notably a call by Muqtada Al-Sadr, leader of the Patriotic Shiite Movement (PSM), who stressed that anyone advocating normalization with Israel should be held accountable.