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Pope Francis met with Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani, Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, at the Islamic scholar’s home in the Iraqi city of Najaf.
Pope He arrived at the clergyman’s little house in an armored car. Upon entering the house, white doves were released, reflecting the themes of this four-day visit to Iraq – peace, reconciliation and interreligious dialogue.
The meeting, the first of its kind between two high-ranking leaders in the Christian and Muslim world, was held in private and carries great symbolism.
Pope Francis advocates interfaith dialogue
Al Sistani is revered by the Shiite majority in Iraq, but his influence in different sects and throughout the Muslim world is profound.
Speaking in Baghdad yesterday, the Pope spoke of his desire for interfaith dialogue and religious tolerance at a time of growing religious polarization.
Francis said: “Only if we learn to look beyond our differences and see ourselves as one human family, can we begin an effective rebuilding process and leave a better, fairer and more humane world for future generations.”
From Najaf, the Pope traveled to Ur, the ancient archaeological site believed to be the birthplace of Abraham, the patriarch of the three monotheistic religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.
The second day of the visit ends with a mass in the Chaldean cathedral in the capital, Baghdad.
Mosul was the site of the capital of the Islamic State
Despite criticism about the timing of the trip, with the country experiencing an increase in coronavirus cases, Vatican officials and the Iraqi government say precautions are being taken. Crowds will be limited and social distancing will be reinforced.
However, in the Christian communities in the north of the country, where the Pope will come tomorrow, the desire to see his Holy Father is strong and it is difficult to see how the distance will continue.
The Pope pays a four-day visit to Iraq
On Sunday, the pope will fly to the Kurdish city of Erbil before taking a helicopter to Iraq’s second city, Mosul.
The destroyed city was held by the so-called Islamic State for four years between 2014 and 2017. Its great mosque in al Nouri, where ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi declared his caliphate in 2014, is in pieces.
Abu Bakr al Baghdadi declared a caliphate in Mosul. Stock Image
The most moving part of the trip will be your visit to Christian cities desecrated by ISIS.
Iraq’s religious minorities, including Christians and Yazidis, have been persecuted for years and suffered terribly first under Al Qaeda and then under ISIS.
In the 1990s, the Christian population of Iraq was approximately 1.5 million. Now it stands at around 250,000. Thousands have been killed by extremists and many hundreds of thousands more have been forced to flee.
