Courtney McGrailIraq’s Chaldean Patriarch Raphael Louis I Sako has expressed hope that the country’s second city, Mosul will be liberated to return to the “beautiful mosaic” of communities and faith traditions it was before the onslaught of so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
In a letter to the nation, the Patriarch assures all soldiers currently fighting to rout ISIS of his prayers and points out that the “high level of co-ordination” between Iraqis of all communities in the battle should become the model for “national reconciliation” once the battle is over.
Describing Mosul as “Iraq in miniature”, Patriarch Sako said the city had been enriched by the mix of “Sunnis, Kurds, Turkmen, Shiites, Chabak, Christians, Yazidis and Sabeans” and prayed that “this diversity will not be wiped out”.