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Dec 15, 2020 · Pope Francis goes to Iraq at a time when his predecessors were unable to do so due to the complexities of the pressing conditions that prevailed recently, including wars, sectarian violence, terrorist attacks, and the complexities of the political affairs in that fraternal country.
Jun 10, 2019 · Pope Francis wishes to travel to Iraq in 2020. Receiving members of the 92nd Plenary Session of ROACO, the Reunion of Aid Agencies that provides aid to the Oriental Catholic Churches, Pope Francis reveals it is his wish to travel to Iraq in the coming year. By Linda Bordoni.
- Long-Held Desire
- Years in The Making
- Preserving Christians Presence
- Amid Difficult Times
- Hope Springs Eternal
Pope Francis has long expressed his desire to visit Iraq. Already on 10 June 2019 he told a meeting of Catholic aid agenciesthat he planned on traveling there in 2020. “I think constantly of Iraq – where I want to go next year – in the hope that it can face the future through the peaceful and shared pursuit of the common good on the part of all ele...
The Pope’s visit will come as the realization of a dream of his predecessor, Pope St. John Paul II. The Polish Pope had planned to travel to Iraq at the end of 1999. That trip never took place because Saddam Hussein decided to postpone it, after months of negotiations. According to Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, the Patriarch of Babylon of the Chalde...
Preparations for Pope Francis’ visit seemed to be nearing completion early this year, when he met the President of Iraq, Barham Salih, at an audience in the Vatican on 25 January. The Holy See Press Office said at the time that the two spoke about “preserving the historical presence of Christians in the country” and “highlighting the need to guaran...
Christians’ presence in Iraq, however, has been drastically diminished in the past two decades. In 2003, before a US-led coalition invaded to depose Saddam Hussein, there were around 1 to 1.4 million Christians in the country. A drawn-out war and the 2014-2017 occupation of the Plain of Nineveh by the so-called Islamic State reduced their number to...
Yet, the dream of recovery has been impeded by an economic crisis, corruption, and the plight of 1.7 million internally displaced people. UNICEF, the UN children’s aid agency, estimates that some 4 million Iraqis require humanitarian assistance, of whom half are children. Add in the Covid-19 pandemic and the situation remains dire in a country of o...
Jun 10, 2019 · VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Announcing his desire to visit Iraq in 2020, Pope Francis called for a peaceful resolution to crises in the Middle East. He also warned that God would unleash his wrath on...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Announcing his desire to visit Iraq in 2020, Pope Francis called for a peaceful resolution to crises in the Middle East.
Jan 14, 2021 · The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Francis will travel to Iraq in March 2021. He will be the first pope to ever visit the country, which is still recovering from the devastation...
Jun 10, 2019 · VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Announcing his desire to visit Iraq in 2020, Pope Francis called for a peaceful resolution to crises in the Middle East. He also warned that God would unleash his wrath on hypocritical leaders who liked to talk about peace while selling weapons to warring nations.
