The Pope prays in Mosul

On the third day of his historic visit to Iraq, Pope Francis arrived in the city of Mosul, once a stronghold of the “ISIS” organization, and the number of Christians in it, now, does not exceed a few dozen families. The Pope was transferred to the northern city, by helicopter from the nearby city of Erbil.

Afterwards, the Pope will return to Erbil, where he will celebrate an open-air mass that includes thousands, after visiting Mosul and Qaraqosh, who have suffered for three years from ISIS violations.
This stage of the visit is of great importance, especially since the governorate of Nineveh and its capital, Mosul, is the center of the Christian community in Iraq, and its old churches and monasteries have suffered extensive damage at the hands of ISIS. This stage of the Pope’s visit is not without security challenges and takes place amid strict procedures.
Pope Francis met yesterday in Najaf with the religious authority Ali al-Sistani, who stressed the importance of “peace and security” for Iraqi Christians and their rights. In the closed-door meeting that lasted about an hour, Sistani affirmed his “interest in Christian citizens who live like all Iraqis in security and peace,” according to a statement released by his office after the meeting, underscoring the need for Christians to enjoy “their full constitutional rights.”
After Najaf, where the meeting with Sistani was the highlight of the Pontiff’s visit, Pope Francis landed in Ur, the symbolic site from the spiritual point of view, where he denounced in a speech “terrorism that offends religion” .
In his speech, which preceded prayers with representatives of Shiites, Sunnis, Yazidis, Sabeans, Kaka’is and Zoroastrians, the Pope said: “Hostility, extremism and violence do not come from a religious soul: they are all betrayals of the religion”. He added: “We, the faithful, cannot be silent when terrorism offends religion. Rather, we have a duty to eliminate misunderstandings.
(Reuters, AFP)

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