The Chaldean Catholic Patriarch in Iraq, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, decided to withdraw from the patriarchal headquarters in Baghdad and head to a monastery in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, in a new chapter of tension between him on the one hand and President Abdul Latif Rashid and the leader of the Christian movement "Babylon" Rayan al-Chaldean on the other.

Sako announced Saturday in a statement that he "decided to withdraw from the patriarchal headquarters in Baghdad to one of the monasteries in the Kurdistan region of Iraq," condemning a "campaign" waged against him by the "Babylonian" movement and the "silence of the government," as he put it.

Denouncing what he considered a "dirty game", he suggested to what he described as the "protector of the constitution" – a reference to the president of the republic – that the Chaldeans and his two brothers be in charge of "the endowments of the Church".

The head of the Babylon movement Ryan Chaldean – on Saturday – on this decision in a statement published on his account in Twitter, saying, "We, in the Babylon movement reject what was stated in the message, we are a political movement and we are not battalions, and a political movement participating in the political process, and we are part of the coalition of state administration, and we confirm that the decision to withdraw the decree from him, is the decision of the Presidency of the Republic, not Babylon."

"We see (that) what the Patriarch needs today is to withdraw from politics and not to retreat away from the historical and proven capital of the Patriarchate of Babylon on the Chaldeans, and this is evidence of the weakness of the patriarchal circle and its submission to a political agenda, so that Christians can once again be used as a pressure card between the whales of politics," the statement continued.

Cardinal Sako is an important public figure for the Christian minority and political leaders in the country, and was the godfather of Pope Francis' visit to Iraq in 2021.

For months, the dispute between Sako and the Babylon movement led by the Chaldeans, a movement represented in parliament and the government, and affiliated with the Popular Mobilization Forces, has intensified.

Sako and Chaldean accuse each other of trying to seize the resources of Christians in a country that has seen decades of conflict and plagued by corruption.

The Chaldean, who has been under US sanctions since 2019, denounces a "political" role for Cardinal Sako, while Sako accuses the Chaldean of trying to acquire Christian representation.

But events took another turn with the withdrawal of a decree No. 147 of 2013 a few days ago, granting the functions of the cardinal as head of the Chaldean Church legal status.

In a recent interview with a local channel, Cardinal Sako explained that the decree was administratively necessary for him to allow him to manage the church's properties and endowments.

However, the Iraqi presidency justified the withdrawal of the decree by citing the absence of a "constitutional and legal basis" for it. In another statement, the presidency explained that "presidential decrees appointing are issued only to workers in institutions, presidencies, ministries and government bodies."

"Certainly, the religious establishment is not a government department, and the cleric in charge of it is not considered a state employee to issue a decree appointing him," she said.

At the same time, the presidency explained that "the withdrawal of the presidential decree would not prejudice the religious or legal status of Cardinal Louis Sako," stressing that "Patriarch Louis Sako enjoys the respect and appreciation of the presidency of the republic."

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— Ryan Chaldean (@RyanAlchaldean) July 15, 2023

The Chaldean Church is one of the largest churches in Iraq, with an estimated 400,1 Christians today in the country, up from about 5.20 million two decades ago who emigrated due to <> years of war and conflict.