SW News:

Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako in an interview with AsiaNews revealed the contents of his Christmas homily. He made a special mention of the minorities in the Middle East who are oppressed and subjected to violence. However, he said that Christmas teaches every one of the continuous presence of God, a presence that is eternal when it comes to love and mercy. 

The Church head said that the celebration of the birth of Jesus helps a person to regain the spiritual and moral values that are needed to live in peace and harmony with one another. “Christ came to bring us together and bring us together, to develop our relationships in a spirit of fraternity and tranquility, so let us welcome him with a new spirit to reach the fullness of the human and spiritual values that he taught us. Let us not let the feast pass like the days of the calendar, as Pope Francis said three weeks ago in the Angelus,” said the Cardinal in his to-be-delivered homily. 

He said it is everyone’s wish to have a new humanity that has the ability to live in peace, love and forgiveness. "On Christmas night, hatred is erased, the earth flourishes, war is abolished, love sprouts,” he said. He deplored the fact that Christmas comes when the world is witnessing a devastating war and conflicts in Iraq, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. He urged the world to pay heed to the message that wars are failures. Cardinal Sako suggested taking the path of dialogue through diplomacy to sort out issues. 

The patriarchal Christmas Mass will be attended by the President of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid, Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al Sudani as well as ecclesiastical dignitaries from other Churches and members of the Muslim community.