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Iraq: Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon States That Christians Are Treated as Second-Class Citizens

January 3, 2023

For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in Iraq, click here.

“Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako Criticizes Forced Conversion of Christian Minors to Islam, Adds: In Iraq, Christians Are Treated as Second-Class Citizens,” MEMRI, December 30, 2022:

Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako, the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon, said in a December 30, 2022 interview on Al-Sharqiya News TV (Iraq) that Christians are treated as “second class citizens” in Iraq. He explained that certain issues in Iraq “violate the rights of the Christians to the core,” such as conversion of Christian minors to Islam. He also said that in many situations, Christians convert to Islam in order to enjoy social benefits, and not for religious reasons. For more about Cardinal Sako, see MEMRI TV Clips Nos8571 75626099and 5339.