From the BBC:
“Pope
Francis to begin historic Iraq visit despite virus and security risks”
Pope Francis
will fly to Iraq on Friday for the first ever papal visit to the country and
his first international trip since the start of the pandemic. The four-day trip
is meant to reassure Iraq's dwindling Christian community and foster
inter-religious dialogue. The Pope will meet Iraq's most revered Shia Muslim
cleric, say a prayer in Mosul and celebrate Mass at a stadium. He has insisted
on travelling despite a new spike in Covid-19 infections in Iraq and concerns
over his security. Hours after a rocket attack on a base hosting US troops on
Wednesday, the Pope said Iraqi Christians could not be "let down for a
second time". Pope John Paul II cancelled plans for a trip at the end of
1999 after talks with then-President Saddam Hussein's government broke down. In
the two decades since then, one of the world's oldest Christian communities has
seen its numbers plummet from 1.4 million to about 250,000. Many have fled
abroad to escape the religiously motivated violence that has plagued the
country since the US-led invasion in 2003 that ousted Saddam. Tens of thousands
were also displaced when Islamic State (IS) militants overran northern Iraq in
2014, destroying their historic churches, seizing their property, and giving
them the choice to pay a tax, convert, leave or face death.
What does
the Pope hope to achieve? The head of the Roman Catholic Church aims to
embolden persecuted Christians and call for peace in meetings with political
and other religious leaders, reports the BBC's Mark Lowen, who is travelling
with him. Addressing the Iraqi people in a video message on the eve of
his trip, Pope Francis said he was "coming as a pilgrim, as a penitent
pilgrim, to implore from the Lord forgiveness and reconciliation after years of
war and terrorism, to beg from God the consolation of hearts and the healing of
wounds". He continued: "I am coming among you also as a
pilgrim of peace... seeking fraternity and prompted by the desire to pray
together and to walk together, also with our brothers and sisters of other
religious traditions, in the steps of Father Abraham, who joins in one family
Muslims, Jews and Christians." The pope told Iraqi Christians:
"I want to bring you the affectionate caress of the whole Church, which is
close to you and to the war-torn Middle East, and encourages you to keep moving
forward."
Who are
Iraq's Christians? People in what is now Iraq embraced Christianity in the
1st Century AD. According to the US state department, Christian leaders
estimate there are fewer than 250,000 Christians remaining in Iraq, with the
largest population - at least 200,000 - living in the Nineveh Plain and
Kurdistan Region in the north of the country Approximately 67% of those
are Chaldean Catholics, whose Eastern-rite Church retains its own liturgy and
traditions but recognises the authority of the pope in Rome. Another 20% are
members of the Assyrian Church of the East, believed to be the oldest in Iraq
The rest are Syriac Orthodox, Syriac Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Armenian
Apostolic, as well as Anglican, Evangelical and other Protestants
What is the
Pope's schedule? Due to security concerns and a sharp rise in Covid-19
infections, the 84-year-old pope will have limited exposure to the public, our
correspondent says. But there are still fears that the trip could become a
super-spreader event. Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Baghdad on
Friday afternoon. He will be welcomed by Iraq's prime minister and
president before meeting bishops and other clergy at a Syriac Catholic church
in the capital, Our Lady of Salvation, where 52 Christians and police were
killed in an attack by jihadists from a precursor group to IS in 2010. On
Saturday, the pope will fly south to the Shia holy city of Najaf, where he will
visit Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. The 90-year-old is the prime marja, or
spiritual reference, for millions of Shia in Iraq and elsewhere. Pope
Francis will then attend an interreligious meeting at the ancient site of Ur,
traditionally believed to be the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham. Sunday
will see him travel to the northern city of Mosul. He will say a prayer of
suffrage in Church Square for the victims of the war with IS, which left tens
of thousands of civilians dead. The pope will also visit nearby
Qaraqosh, where Christians have returned since the defeat of IS in 2017 to
restore the town's church and rebuild their homes. That afternoon, he
will celebrate Mass at a stadium in Irbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous
Kurdistan Region, which thousands of people may attend. About 10,000
Iraqi Security Forces personnel will be deployed during the visit to protect
the Pope, while round-the-clock curfews are also being imposed to limit the
spread of Covid-19.
^ With Covid,
ISIS and Iran now doesn’t seem like a good time for the Pope to go to Iraq. ^
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