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“For a long time I have wanted to meet the people in Iraq who have suffered so much,” Pope Francis said. His visit to Iraq, which runs until Monday, is also an event of the century for Christians in Iraq: it is the first visit by a head of the Catholic Church to the country in crisis and also the Pope’s first trip abroad since the start of corona pandemic. Despite the massive increase in the number of infections in Iraq, Francis was greeted yesterday by cheering crowds in Baghdad.
In his speech before representatives of politics, religion and society, the Pope stressed that he comes as a “penitent” in the face of the cruelty that Iraq had to endure. In it he again asked for peace and “fraternal coexistence”: “The guns must be silent!”
Iraqi President Barham Salih also spoke out in favor of religious tolerance and reconciliation: the presence of the highest representative of the Catholic Church fills Iraqis with pride and thanked the Pope for the “historic visit.”
The reception was more than warm. Image: APA / AFP
Iraq is one of the regions of origin of Christianity. As early as the 2nd century AD, the Babylonian Chaldeans founded their first communities in ancient Mesopotamia. Once more than a million Christians lived in predominantly Muslim Iraq. Today it is estimated at 250,000 to 400,000. Not surprising: under Saddam Hussein, Christians remained largely equal or, as a minority, even privileged, thereafter became the target of terrorists. The terror regime of the “Islamic State” (IS) militias was particularly deadly.
“Only the old ones stayed”
Who could left. The escape continues to this day. Several hundred would leave the country every month. Chaldean father Lallo knows that after the bitter experiences of recent years they would have “finished with Iraq.” “Only the elderly want to stay in their homeland to wait for death,” says the clergyman, describing the gloomy situation. The fact that the Holy Father is coming to Iraq now is a sign of hope for them.
Pope Francis has a dense program that takes him through all regions: One of today’s highlights is a meeting with Iraq’s most important Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. In addition, an interreligious meeting is planned on the plane of Ur, from where, according to biblical tradition, Abraham originated. In the north, the Pope wants to visit the city of Mosul, which used to be the most important stronghold of the IS terrorist militia. At the end of the trip, he celebrates a mass in the Kurdish regional capital of Erbil, at which up to 10,000 believers are expected.
