Truth of Augustine

BREAKING: Spain to reopen its embassy in the capital of Iran, Tehran.

After the resignation of Cardinal Louis Sako, the race to lead the Chaldean Catholic Church appears to be centering on two main names: Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil and Bishop Basilio Yaldo of Baghdad. Sako’s resignation was accepted on March 10, and The Pillar, a Catholic news outlet focused on Church affairs, now describes Warda and Yaldo as the two leading contenders, with their chances seen as broadly close. Warda is widely known internationally, especially in the US, and is seen as the candidate most likely to mark a break from the Sako era, with a stronger focus on evangelization and a more assertive regional role for the Church. Yaldo, by contrast, is viewed more as the continuity candidate and is said to draw support from those aligned with Sako, while also benefiting from his roots in Telkaif in the Nineveh Plains. If the synod deadlocks between the two, or if Warda declines the post as he has reportedly suggested before, another name could come into play: Archbishop Emil Nona, the former archbishop of Mosul who later went on to lead the Chaldean Church in Australia and New Zealand. There are more than 600,000 Chaldean Catholics worldwide, and their next patriarch will face major challenges, most notably: internal strain, continued emigration, and the longer-term challenge of balancing its historic base in Iraq with a growing diaspora abroad. It is also worth noting that this succession comes after years of tension between Sako and Rayan al-Kildani, a U.S.-sanctioned Chaldean militia leader whose network is widely associated with pro-Iran armed politics in Iraq. That clash pushed Sako to leave Baghdad for Erbil in 2023 after the decree recognizing his position was revoked. But that decree was later effectively restored by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani in June 2024, paving the way for Sako’s return to Baghdad. His March 2026 resignation appears to be a separate matter and not related to this episode but just shows the different and magnitude of challenges.

UPDATE: Letters from Leo can now independently confirm that the meeting took place — and that the Vatican was so alarmed by the Pentagon’s tactics that Pope Leo XIV shelved plans to visit the United States later this year. Many in the Vatican saw the Pentagon’s reference to an Avignon papacy as a threat to use military force against the Holy See.

UPDATE: Letters from Leo can now independently confirm that the meeting took place — and that the Vatican was so alarmed by the Pentagon’s tactics that Pope Leo XIV shelved plans to visit the United States later this year. Many in the Vatican saw the Pentagon’s reference to an Avignon papacy as a threat to use military force against the Holy See.

UPDATE: Letters from Leo can now independently confirm that the meeting took place — and that the Vatican was so alarmed by the Pentagon’s tactics that Pope Leo XIV shelved plans to visit the United States later this year. Many in the Vatican saw the Pentagon’s reference to an Avignon papacy as a threat to use military force against the Holy See.