Pilgrim of peace : Pope Francis heads to Iraq hoping landmark trip can foster friendship msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Iraq in March is bound to attract attention to the nation’s peculiar Christian minorities. These fascinating groups have a uniquely Middle Eastern history that is far too little known and appreciated in the West, even though they are now present in sizable diaspora communities in North America, Europe, and Australia.
When over 20,000 Iraqi asylum seekers came to my home country, Finland, in 2015, I realized that as a half-Iraqi theologian it was finally time for me to find out about my roots. I knew they went deep and had something to do with Arameans, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syriacs but who was who, and what was the difference?
Carl Hétu, director of Catholic Near East Welfare Association on Pope Francis’ Visit to Iraq this Week
Sister Luma, from the leadership team of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, visits the heavily damaged Church of the Immaculate Conception in Qaraqosh in 2017. The church was burned by Islamic State militants. Pope Francis will meet with the faithful in this church on his apostolic visit to Iraq, 5-8 March. (photo: Raed Rafei)
By Carl Hétu, director of
It’s on the minds of many. Why is Pope Francis going to Iraq, March 5 to 8, in these tough times of pandemic, political instability and rumours of threats to his life?
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. Rashed Al Mansoori / Ministry of Presidential Affairs
صوت العراق | تاريخ التشريع عند اليهود الكُردستانيين/ج3 sotaliraq.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sotaliraq.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.