ASIA/IRAQ – Chaldean Patriarchate: no “approval” from the Patriarch to the emigration of Christians in Germany and Canada

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0805Iraq_Patriarch-Louis-Raphael-I-Sako-of-BaghdadBaghdad (Agenzia Fides) – With an official statement the Patriarchate of Babylon of the Chaldeans denies the allegations circulated online that Patriarch Louis Raphael I granted his approval to the emigration of 13 thousand Iraqi Chaldean Christians in Canada and Germany. These strange statements – reads the statement, issued by the official media of the Patriarchate and also sent to Agenzia Fides – turn out to be completely unfounded. Regarding the emigration of Christians from Iraq, the Patriarchate endorses the position already expressed on other occasions: whoever decides to leave the Country torn by sectarian conflicts and destabilized by the creation of the Islamic Caliphate, does it in full freedom. The Patriarchate does not bind anyone to the moral obligation to stay, nor does it encourage anyone to go away. The path of emigration always represents a personal decision, which cannot be justified with references to non-existent approvals by the ecclesiastical authority. (GV) (Agenzia Fides 13/01/2015)

http://www.fides.org/en/news/37089-ASIA_IRAQ_Chaldean_Patriarchate_no_approval_from_the_Patriarch_to_the_emigration_of_Christians_in_Germany_and_Canada#.VLenM3u-N2Y