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Pope Condemns Violence in Godâs Name as Greatest Blasphemy During Iraq Visit
Pope Francis, who is in Iraq for a historic meeting with the countryâs top Shi ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, visited the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham on Saturday.
Pope Francis arrives to hold a Mass at Chaldean Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Baghdad, Iraq, March 6, 2021. Photo: Reuters/Yara Nardi
World08/Mar/2021
Ur (Iraq): Pope Francis walked down a narrow alleyway in the holy city of Najaf to hold a historic meeting with Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric and visited the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham on Saturday to condemn violence in the name of God as “the greatest blasphemy”.
Pope Francis walked through a narrow alley in Iraq s holy city of Najaf for a historic meeting with the country s top Shiite cleric, and together they delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence in a country still reeling from back-to-back conflicts over the past decade. In a gesture both simple and profound, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani welcomed Francis into his spartan home. Afterward, he said religious authorities have a role in protecting Iraq s Christians, and that Christians should live in peace and enjoy the same rights as other Iraqis. The Vatican said Francis thanked al-Sistani for having raised his voice in defence of the weakest and most persecuted during some of the most violent times in Iraq s recent history. Al-Sistani, 90, is one of the most senior clerics in Shiite Islam, and his rare but powerful political interventions have helped shape present-day Iraq.
The Iraq meeting of Pope Francis and Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, one of Shiite Islam's top clerics, was front-page news in Iran Sunday, with some media declaring it a chance for peace in the neighboring country.