Face to faith – Pope Francis and Iraqi Ayatollah in history-making meeting
POPE FRANCIS condemned violent extremism in the name of religion on a historic visit to Iraq yesterday, giving a spiritual boost to the region’s persecuted Christian minority.
The pontiff pleaded for an ‘end to acts of violence and extremism, factions and intolerance’ in a powerfully symbolic message alongside Iraq’s top Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
The 84-year-old Catholic leader, who defied security fears and the pandemic to become the first Pope to travel to Iraq, urged the faithful to ‘look beyond our differences’.
He also paid tribute to the ‘age-old presence of Christians in this land and their contributions to the life of the nation’ during a meeting with the reclusive 90-year-old Ayatollah.
The Vatican said Francis thanked al-Sistani for having ‘raised his voice in defence of the weakest and most persecuted’ during Iraq’s recent IS-bedevilled history.
The Pope travelled in a bullet-proof car to the goldendomed Imam Ali shrine, one of the most revered sites in Shia Islam. He then walked to al-Sistani’s home.
A group of Iraqis welcomed him outside and, as Francis entered the doorway, white doves were released in a sign of peace. While the Pope has been vaccinated, Iraq has been gripped by a second wave of Covid infection with 5,000-plus new cases a day.
Francis will preside over a half-dozen services in ravaged churches, refurbished stadiums and remote desert locations. Inside the country, he will travel more than 1,400km, flying over areas where security forces are still battling the remnants of IS forces.