Chaldean patriarch lambasts Babylon chief, migration minister for sequestrating Christians' properties

Shafaq News/ The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch in Iraq, Louis Sako, castigated Rayan al-Kaldani, leader of the Babylon Party, and Ivan Faiq, the Iraqi imigration minister, in a fiery press conference on Saturday.

Sako accused al-Kaldani of purloining properties from Christians in Baghdad, Nineveh, and the Nineveh Plain.

The clergyman said al-Kaldani "is endeavoring to co-opt Christian clergy with the aid of a woman he appointed to a ministerial post," alluding to Migration Minister Faiq.

Sako questioned al-Kaldani's credentials, asserting that he is bereft of the capacity to lead the Christian community and aspires to dominate Christianity in Iraq.

The patriarch said al-Kaldani has usurped the Christian quota in the recent election, which designates five seats for minority Christians.

In a trenchant critique, Sako censured the Babylon Movement and al-Kaldani for brandishing images of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the cross during political gatherings.

"Parading them in the streets and politics is inappropriate, for we are not engaged in a crusade."