Page 23 - Bashar Warda News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

LONDON/ROME: No one knows how many Iraqi Christians will flock to witness the historic visit of Pope Francis to Iraq, for the simple reason that no one knows exactly how many of the faithful remain in a country that can trace its Christian roots back to the earliest days of the faith. Plagued by years of internal strife following the US-led invasion in 2003, Iraq has not conducted a census of its population since 1997. One planned for 2020, the year the coronavirus pandemic struck the world, was not carried out. But while estimates of the number of Christians in Iraq have varied over the year...

ROME: In the run up to the pope’s visit to Iraq on March 5-8, a Vatican foundation has announced a new program worth €1.5 million ($1.8 million) to support young Christians living in the country. Aid to the Church in Need (ACS) will fund scholarships for 150 students of the Catholic University of Erbil for the next four years. It is the only Catholic university in Iraq, and 54 percent of its 170 students are women. Bashar Warda, Chaldean archbishop of Erbil and founder of the university in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, described the scholarships as “a strong gesture of solidarity...

POPE FRANCIS will defy security concerns and embark on a historic visit to Iraq later this week.

The road from Abu Dhabi to Baghdad is full of peril for Pope Francis But potential rewards could outweigh the risk as the Holy Father continues his work for interfaith tolerance Pope Francis arrives to speak to reporters aboard a plane on the way to Abu Dhabi. Reuters Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai; Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church stand for a national anthem during a reception, at the Presidential Palace on the day two of the Holy See's official visit...

“People in Iraq know little about us,” said Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil.