\n 2026-06-21T13:21:33+00:00<\/p>\n
font<\/p>\n
Enable Reading Mode<\/p>\n
\n A-
\n A
\n A+\n <\/p>\n
Shafaq News-
\nKirkuk<\/p>\n
The head of the
\nChaldean Catholic Church in Iraq and the world, Patriarch Mar Paul III Nona,
\nsaid Sunday he has no clear picture of Christian representation in the current
\nIraqi government, adding that the coming period would bring greater clarity on
\nthe matter.<\/p>\n
“Until now
\nI do not have a complete idea about this subject, and in the coming period we
\nwill get to know it more clearly,” Nona told Shafaq News during a visit to
\nliberated areas in northern Iraq, without elaborating further.<\/p>\n
Iraq’s
\ngovernment formation remains incomplete following parliamentary elections in
\nNovember 2025. In May 2026, the parliament approved 14 ministers of Ali
\nal-Zaidi\u2019s cabinet, while nine portfolios remain vacant.<\/p>\n
On
\nreconstruction, Nona said liberated areas, particularly Mosul and the Nineveh
\nPlains, where Christian communities bore some of the heaviest losses during
\nISIS’s 2014 takeover, have shown notable progress. The focus, he added, extends
\nbeyond physical infrastructure to rebuilding communities “on sound
\nfoundations based on respect for human dignity, cooperation, and
\ncoexistence.”<\/p>\n
Fewer than
\n300,000 Christians remain in Iraq today, down from more than 1.5 million in
\n2003, following decades of conflict and displacement. Nona expressed hope that
\nstability would allow families to return, describing the next phase as one that
\n“should witness a reverse migration and the return of families to their
\noriginal areas inside Iraq.”<\/p>\n