POPE CELEBRATES MASS AT BAGHDAD CHURCH ON GULFNEWS.COM
Pope Francis leaves Baghdad’s Saint Joseph Cathedral yesterday after celebrating the mass.
Pope Francis reminded Iraq’s Chaldean Catholics of one of the core tenets of the Catholic faith: that those who are persecuted, poor and mourn are blessed.
Francis honoured Iraq’s persecuted Christians by celebrating Mass yesterday at the Chaldean Catholic cathedral in Baghdad. It was the first time a pope has celebrated a Mass using the Chaldean rite that is known to most Iraqi Catholics. Despite concerns about coronavirus infections, the church was full, stuffy with incense and a choir sang hymns and chanted Scripture readings.
For his sermon, Francis delivered a meditation on the Beatitudes, taken from Jesus’ sermon that in God’s eyes, those who are blessed are not the wealthy, powerful or famous, but “the poor, those who mourn, the persecuted.’’ He said: “Love is our strength, the source of strength for those of our brothers and sisters who here too have suffered prejudice, indignities, mistreatment and persecutions for the name of Jesus.’’
Chaldean Catholics are believed to represent around 80 per cent of the estimated 300,000 Christians left in Iraq.
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The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has opened two new parks in the Al Rahmaniyah neighbourhood in Sharjah. The adjoining Kshisha and Shaghrafa parks have a combined built area of 147,700 square metres. Dedicated to families, the Kshisha Park hosts football and volleyball courts, a library, amphitheatre, fitness hub, jogging and cycling tracks among other facilities. Shaghrafa Park is exclusively for women only.