Pope Francis greets Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad, Iraq, during a meeting with Chaldean Catholics at the Church of St. Simon the Tanner in Tbilisi, Georgia in 2016. In a move some have said is already a direct result of Pope Francis’ highly anticipated visit to the country in March, Iraqi parliament earlier this week voted to establish Christmas as an annual national holiday. (Photo:CNS/Paul Haring)
Ishtartv.com
- thetablet.org
December 18, 2020, By Elise Ann
Allen
ROME (Crux) – In a move some have
said is already a direct result of Pope Francis’ highly anticipated visit to
the country in March, Iraqi parliament earlier this week voted to establish
Christmas as an annual national holiday.
The vote, which took place Dec.
16, was unanimous and goes into effect this year, meaning that for all of its
woes, 2020 will have at least one silver lining for the Iraqi Christian
community.
Previously, Christians had been
given the day of Dec. 25 off, but it was not considered a holiday for the rest
of the population in the Muslim-majority nation.
In 2008, the Iraqi government
declared Christmas a “one-time” holiday, but the provision was not renewed.
In recent years, Christmas has
only been a public holiday in the province of Kirkuk.
The decision to formally declare
Christmas a national holiday comes after an Oct. 17 meeting between Iraqi
Cardinal Luis Raphael Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and Iraqi
President Barham Salih, during which Cardinal Sako proposed a recognizing
Christmas as a national holiday in Iraq.
At the time, Salih, stressed the
important role Christian communities play in the country, despite enduring
years of discrimination and jihadist violence.
The decision comes just months
before Pope Francis is scheduled to make a March 5-8 visit to the country,
stopping in Baghdad, Erbil, Qaraqosh, Mosul, and the Plain of Ur, traditionally
recognized as the birthplace of Abraham.
Pope Francis’ visit will mark the
first time a pope has traveled to Iraq and takes place after many Christians
and other minorities have either left Iraq, or are still displaced within the
country, as a result of ISIS’s 2014 invasion of the Nineveh Plain.
The decision about Christmas will
also likely be seen as a first step for Christians to feel welcomed in their
own country, and to feel like they are closer to enjoying full rights rather
than being seen as “second-class citizens,” which has been a general complaint
for decades.
In a statement issued after the
Iraqi parliament’s decision, Cardinal Sako thanked Salih, the Speaker of
Parliament Muhammad al Halbousi, and all other members of parliament “for their
affirmative vote for the sake of their fellow Christians,” asking for God’s
blessing and reward to be upon them.
Salih also reaffirmed his
commitment to helping Christians displaced by the ISIS invasion to return to
their homes.
In comments to Asia News, Bishop
Basilio Yaldo, an auxiliary bishop in Baghdad, hailed the establishment of
Christmas as a national holiday is “a historic vote, because today Christmas is
truly a celebration for all Iraqis.”
“This is a message of great value
and great hope for Christians and for all of Iraq and is inevitably linked to
the pontiff’s apostolic journey to our country in March,” Bishop Yaldo said,
adding, “This is one of the first fruits we hope will bring many others in the
future.”
In a statement issued last week
after news of the Holy Father’s trip was announced, Cardinal Sako called the
papal visit a “new milestone” for Iraqi Christians which will encourage them
“to overcome the painful past in order to reconcile and sooth their wounds,”
and to work toward a peaceful coexistence with the region’s different ethnic and
religious communities.
The visit, he said, should
inspire Christians “to respect and appreciate diversity and pluralism, simply
because they are different brothers of one family and citizens of a shared home
named as Iraq.”
Cardinal Sako said the papal
visit is a chance, not only for Christians to go back to the roots of their
identity, but is also an opportunity to “launch a new vision for the Church in
Iraq and the region” and to “set up a working plan for it.”
“This visit must be invested to
be a major turning point, so that the faith and hope inside us become a
commitment,” he said, urging Iraqi Christians to reflect on their contribution
to society.
“What is our vision of the future
of Christianity and mission in Iraq and the Middle East? Is it immigration or
to stay and face challenges with faith, hope and joy?” he asked, adding, “This
land is ours, and cannot be imagined without Christians.”
Cardinal Sako insisted that
the Christian presence in Iraq is not “random,” but is rather part of a divine
plan and mission which cannot be abandoned “despite all the difficulties.”
“I call on Christians in Iraq and
the Middle East to stand by each other to proclaim the Gospel despite Church
multiplicity and diversity,” he said, adding, “Since we are one family in
essence and brothers with differences, we are called to fulfill our vocation in
this ‘tested’ part of the Middle East.”
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