Louis Raphaël I Sako

Cardinal Sako, Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church, announced in July 2024 that his Church would not apply Fiducia supplicans. He explained that for Chaldean Catholics the blessing of a marriage is a sacrament, which cannot be given to same-sex couples, while a prayer is offered to anyone who asks for it.

Cardinal Sako led a renewal of the Chaldean liturgy, including a missal in Syriac, Arabic and English. In 2022 the Chaldean Patriarchate stated that the use of Arabic is not a betrayal of Tradition and is consistent with Vatican II. His approach is adaptation within the Chaldean rite, unrelated to the Latin Mass debate.

Cardinal Sako is one of the most vocal public voices on the situation of Christians in Iraq. He has called for equal citizenship, a civil law for all Iraqis, the disarming of militias and action against corruption, and has warned that discrimination drives Christians to emigrate.

Cardinal Sako was created cardinal by Pope Francis in 2018. In April 2025 he wrote that Francis was a father who listens, praising his simplicity, his stand against war and his dialogue with the Muslim world. He did, however, decline to apply Fiducia supplicans in his Church in 2024.

Cardinal Sako strongly supports interreligious dialogue, especially with Islam. He has praised the Abu Dhabi Document on Human Fraternity and Pope Francis's meeting with Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani in Najaf, crediting them with reducing hostile rhetoric against Christians in some mosques.

Cardinal Sako communicates frequently and directly through public statements, pastoral letters and personal essays, addressing political and social questions in plain language and regularly reaching Catholic and general media.