VATICAN CITY (AP) — The head of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church has complained that promised U.S. aid for religious minorities in Iraq hasn't materialized, issuing an unusual public rebuke of the United States from the Vatican.
Cardinal Louis Raphaël I Sako praised Hungary by contrast, saying it had provided $5 million in direct assistance to repair Christian homes, schools and churches in Iraq and Syria rather than take refugees in.
Sako spoke Tuesday at a Vatican briefing as Mark Green, USAID administrator, was heading to the Vatican for talks about the assistance.
The U.S. State Department said a new infusion of $178 million had brought to nearly $300 million U.S. aid "implemented" in Iraq since 2017.
Sako said: "There are promises, but the reality is that there's been nothing up to now."
