Pope Francis meets Iraqi Catholics in church where 48 died in 2010 terrorist attack heraldmalaysia.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heraldmalaysia.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Pope Francis speaks while seated on the podium at the square near the ruins of the Syriac Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception (al-Tahira-l-Kubra), in the old city of Iraq s northern Mosul on March 7, 2021. | AFP via Getty Images/ZAID AL-OBEIDI
Pope Francis visited the ruins of Mosul and a Christian community damaged by the Islamic State during the third day of his historic visit to Iraq Sunday. The day earlier, the pontiff visited the birthplace of Abraham, met with a prominent Shia cleric and gave a sermon in Baghdad.
“How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilization, should have been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed,” the 84-year-old pope said Sunday, according to Reuters, as he met with Muslim and Christian residents in a destroyed portion of Mosul Sunday.
BAGHDAD (CNS) To consolidate peace and ensure progress, the government and people of Iraq must never treat anyone as a second-class citizen and must work each day to promote harmony, Pope Francis said.
Tolerance & coexistence central to humanity: Pope Francis sentinelassam.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sentinelassam.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.