In a 2 July letter, World Council of Churches general
secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit congratulated Louis Raphael I Sako of
Babylon, the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, on being ordained as
a cardinal.
“We rejoice with the Chaldean Church and with the people
of the Middle East and in particular of Iraq for this important
affirmation of your spiritual and ecclesial leadership,” reads the
letter. “The World Council of Churches remains committed to working for
sustainable peace and social cohesion in Iraq.”
Tveit reflects that religious leaders have a crucial
role to play in speaking out against intolerance, discrimination,
violence, and division. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank
you, your Beatitude, for all your contributions to reflection and action
to promote the social responsibility of religious institutions, with
their various identities and doctrines, in order to inculcate the idea
of citizenship on the basis of equality, respect for diversity, freedom
of religion and belief, and solidarity and cooperation among religions,
for building sustainable peace.”