Iraqi official says top Shi a cleric won t sign fraternity doc with pope cruxnow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from cruxnow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Tablet February 19, 2021
A damaged cross is pictured atop St. George Monastery in Mosul, Iraq, June, 9, 2019. Pope Francis plans to visit Iraq March 5-8. (Photo: CNS/Marcin Mazur)
By Elise Anne Allen
ROME (Crux) – Despite widespread speculation that Pope Francis and top Shi’a cleric Grand Ayatollah Al-Sistani will sign a document on human fraternity during their meeting in Iraq next month, an Iraqi state official has said the rumors are false.
According to the Iraqi Kurdish news site “Rudaw,” in comments made during a media roundtable, Senior Undersecretary of Iraq’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nizar Al-Khair Allah called the Holy Father’s scheduled visit with Al-Sistani “historic.”
Deadly protests return to Iraq as Vatican unveils packed papal schedule for March visit
Feb 9, 2021 senior correspondent
An anti-government protester waves a national flag during a demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019. (Credit: Hadi Mizban/AP.)
On Monday the Vatican released a busy itinerary for Pope Francis’s upcoming visit to Iraq, the publication of which coincided with a flare-up of protests throughout the country with demonstrators calling for political reform.
ROME – On Monday, the Vatican released a busy itinerary for Pope Francis’s upcoming visit to Iraq, the publication of which coincided with a flare-up of protests throughout the country as demonstrators call for political reform.