Baghdad – Greetings and best wishes from Chaldean Patriarch Louis Raphael Sako are addressed to his “Dear Muslim brothers” who from the evening of today, Thursday 30 July, celebrate Eid al Adha, the “feast of sacrifice”. This Islamic holiday – writes the Iraqi Cardinal in his short message, but full of references to the present – this year is celebrated in the midst of harsh conditions, while the lives of citizens is under the growing weight of the health emergency”.
The feast of Eid al Adha wants to commemorate the proof of obedience to God made by Abraham, showing himself ready to sacrifice the life of his son Isaac if this corresponded to the will of God. “Eid al-Adha” comments the Chaldean Patriarch “is an invitation to repent and renew themselves, sacrificing the private interests of one’s faction, for the good and growth of our Country and to safeguard the dignity of our citizens”.
In this period of crisis being experienced in Iraq – reads the patriarchal message – even Eid al-Adha represents “an opportunity to join energies in a spirit of national responsibility, cooperating with the current government and with all people of good will, to overcome the coronavirus pandemic and all other emergencies”.
In recent days, the popular protests which have re-exploded in Iraqi squares have been marked by the death of at least three protesters killed by the police. The head of government, Mustafa al Kadhimi, has promised an investigation into the behavior of the police who killed the demonstrators, while two senior Iraqi army officers were killed in the province of Anbar during an ambush. At an institutional level, the call for early elections in 2021 appears to be opposed by delaying tactics of many parliamentarians who, according to several commentators, fear that they will no longer be re-elected and work against the government plan that they themselves had approved.
Source: Agenzia Fides
