Patriarchate Media
Address
of His Beatitude Patriarch Raphael Cardinal Sako to the II
International Conference on Christian Persecution, held in Budapest,
Hungary on 26 through 28 November 2019.
The
video was sent to the conference based on the organizers’ request, once
His Beatitude sent an apology for not being able to attend, due to the
current situation in Iraq and the unprecedented demonstrations,
preferring to be with his people at these circumstances.
First, I would like to express my sincere thanks for all that Hungary has done for the Iraqi Christians and is still doing to keep them in their homeland with a hope of having a better future. Iraqis are longing for stability and peace with dignity and freedom away from sectarianism, fundamentalism and partitions that divide them.
First, I would like to express my sincere thanks for all that Hungary has done for the Iraqi Christians and is still doing to keep them in their homeland with a hope of having a better future. Iraqis are longing for stability and peace with dignity and freedom away from sectarianism, fundamentalism and partitions that divide them.
I
echo the cry of Christians and other minorities’ concern with their
hope of seeing the commitment and action of the international community.
Christians
in the Arab countries have experienced intolerance, terrorism, and
slaughter. They have an existential concern for years as a result of the
uncontrolled violence against them. Christians in Iraq were about
1,876,500 (one million eight hundred and seventy-six thou sand and five
hundred) before 2003. Currently, the number went down to less than half a
million due to persecution and emigration.
As
Christians have the right to keep their identity, live together with
other citizens in peace, freedom and equality, they need to be aware of
the importance of their presence and historical role in the region.
The suggested solutions may include:
- Building an open-minded pluralistic society that respects all citizens regardless of their religion and ethnicity. This can be achieved by having a civic, democratic and modern constitution that guarantees full citizenship for ALL CITIZENS leading to a harmonious coexistence.
- Eradicating religious fanaticism by prohibiting provocative speeches legally and removing extremist ideas from education programs that threaten national and even regional security. Also, by getting rid of the tribal and social practices and customs of the 7th Century, such as taking revenge and considering other religions as infidels.
- Benefitting from the Western experience in reforming and seeking a modern path towards securing, citizen rights and a hope for the future generations. This can be inspired by the “Document on Human Fraternity” signed in the UAE between Pope Francis and Al-Azhar’s Great Imam, Ahmed al-Tayeb as one of the landmarks for true conviviality.
- Focusing on restoring infrastructure, facilities as well as homes of the internally displaced families to assure their return. It would be also important to encourage investment in Nineveh Plain area by initiating project (especially, agriculture-related projects) to employ young people.
Many thanks