Patriarch Louis Sako of the Chaldean Catholic Church took the unprecedented move of cancelling Christmas celebrations in Iraq, following the violence unleashed upon regime protesters in Baghdad and elsewhere that left hundreds dead. “Morally and spiritually,” Cardinal Sako told Associated Press, “we cannot celebrate in such an atmosphere of tension … It’s not normal to celebrate our joy and happiness while others are dying.” Not even as Christians were targeted in Baghdad in the years following the 2003 invasion, or in response to ISIS, did Sako take such a step.