The Tablet March 17, 2021
Pope Francis signs a book with a message for Syriac Catholics at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Deliverance in Baghdad March 5. Also pictured, from left: Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignace Joseph III Younan, Syriac Catholic Archbishop Ephrem Yousif Mansoor Abba of Baghdad and Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako of Baghdad. (Photo: CNS/Vatican Media via Reuters)
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
This week, I would like to give some personal reflection on the recent trip of our Holy Father, Pope Francis, to Iraq. Thankfully, through our NET-TV station and online sources, I was able to follow some of his major events. Obviously, the visit of Pope Francis was historic; it also pointed out the major complexity and diversity of the population of Iraq, Sunni and Shiite Muslims and representation from almost every Eastern Church and Orthodox Church in the world.