Sakos resignation, announced in a statement on the patriarchate website on Tuesday 10 March, comes only five days after one of his bishops, Emmanuel Shaleta, who was arrested on Thursday 5 March while attempting to leave the US. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said the bishop faces eight counts of embezzlement, eight counts of money laundering, and an additional aggravated white collar crime enhancement, a scandal that has made headlines worldwide.
Given the circumstances of the unraveling of the scandal involving Shaleta, some now speculate whether Sako has chosen to resign in an attempt to conceal his attempts at aiding Bishop Shaleta to hide his alleged crimes.
The Assyria Post
The Pillar, a Catholic news site, has reported that Sako mistakenly sent them an email intended for Shaleta in which he advised him not to answer any questions about his alleged embezzlement of church funds and visits to brothels in Mexico. In the email intended for Shaleta, Sako promised him to work in order to have him transferred to Iraq, in an apparent attempt to have the bishop evade justice. The timing of Sako's resignation following the arrest of Shaleta have led some to speculate whether there is an even bigger scandal that Sako feared would come to light, prompting him to leave preemptively.
The Pillar
A sigh of relief
As the news of Sakos resignation spread on social media many Asssyrians, including many who are members of the Chaldean Church, expressed relief. Yawsep Olmez, a prominent member of the Chaldean Church in Belgium, wrote on his Facebook page: "As a believer in the Chaldean Church, I feel a great relief today. For years, Louis Sako has deeply divided our people. Through some stances and statements, he sowed misunderstanding and anger among many faithful. Over time, he had lost a large part of his credibility and legitimacy with a very large number of followers of the Church. For many of us, he will go down in history as one of the most controversial (not hated) patriarchs, marking a period of deep divisions."
The Assyria Post
Sako's tenure was marked by significant controversies that sparked debate within the Assyrian community. Tensions intensified in recent years over disputes related to communal identity, church authority, and historical memory.
One of the most widely discussed incidents involved the removal of a memorial dedicated to a respected bishop in Alqosh, which triggered widespread criticism from members of the local community. The episode led to a heated public debate about leadership and respect for communal heritage.
The Assyria Post
Other disputes centered on Sako’s public positions regarding Assyrian identity and relations between the Assyrian denominations (i.e. Church of the East, Chaldean and Syriac). Critics argued that some of his actions deepened divisions at a time when the Assyrian population of Iraq faces demographic decline and political marginalization.
During his leadership, Sako frequently spoke about the precarious situation of Assyrians in Iraq, arguing that the community should not isolate itself from wider Iraqi society. Following the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in 2003, then Bishop Sako opposed proposals to establish the Nineveh Plain as a separate province for Assyrians, warning that such a project would amount to the creation of a “Christian ghetto,” while instead expressing support for integration within the Kurdish-led region.
Despite the controversies, Sako remained an influential voice in Middle Eastern Assyrian Christian affairs. In 2018, Pope Francis appointed him President-Delegate of the 2018 Synod on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment, underscoring his role within the global Catholic Church.
The question asked by many Assyrians today is which direction the Chaldean church will take and whether it will it take the direction of unity or continue on the path of division.
From Zakho to Rome
Born in Zakho on July 4, 1948, Sako completed his early education in Mosul before entering the Saint Jean Seminary run by the Dominican Fathers. He was ordained a priest on June 1, 1974, serving at the Mosul Cathedral until 1979.
Sako later pursued higher studies in Europe, earning a doctorate in Oriental Patrology from the Pontifical Oriental Institute and another doctorate in history from the Sorbonne University. After returning to Iraq, he served as rector of the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad from 1997 to 2002.
In 2003, Sako was elected Archbishop of Kirkuk and consecrated bishop later that year. A decade later he was elected Patriarch of the church during a synod in Rome following the resignation of Emmanuel III Delly. He formally received ecclesiastical communion from Pope Benedict XVI, marking the beginning of his tenure as patriarch.
