Pope threads political needle with historic Iraqi cleric meeting afr.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from afr.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Pope Francis Meets Iraqâs Top Ayatollah as Both Urge Peace
The meeting with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani came as Francis sought to protect his persecuted flock in Iraq by forging closer bonds between the Roman Catholic Church and the Muslim world.
A photograph released by the office of the Grand Ayatollah of Iraq shows Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, left, meeting with Pope Francis in Najaf on Saturday.Credit.Office of the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani
March 6, 2021
UR, Iraq â First Pope Francis showed up at the modest residence of Iraqâs most reclusive, and powerful, Shiite religious cleric for a delicate and painstakingly negotiated summit. Hours later, he presided over a stage crowded with religious leaders on the windswept Plain of Ur, a vast and, now arid, expanse where the faithful believe God revealed himself to the Prophet Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim faiths.