POPE FRANCIS: HOPE IS MORE POWERFUL THAN HATRED
▶ Pontiff ends final full day of Iraq tour with message of support for country’s minority groups
Amid the rubble-strewn streets of Mosul, Pope Francis brought the final full day of his historic tour of Iraq to a close yesterday by declaring that hope is “more powerful than hatred, peace more powerful than war”.
The pontiff used his visit to spread a message of hope and told millions in Iraq and around the world that it was “clear that the Church is alive”.
He commended the generosity, compassion and dedication of the country’s Christian community.
He said violence and persecution would never succeed in uprooting Christianity from the country.
Thousands of Iraqis lined the streets of Qaraqosh and Erbil and hundreds gathered in the Old City of Mosul to wave, sing, ululate into the air and dance to traditional music as they welcomed the Pope with prayers for peace and forgiveness.
The visit was considered a message of empowerment and hope for Iraqi Christians, but it also planted seeds of optimism for all of the country’s minorities who are concerned for their long-term security in the region.
The Pope stopped for a minute of silence in front of the historic Syriac cathedral in the Old City of Mosul, a site destroyed by ISIS, before he prayed in the square near by.
The visit to Al Tahera Church sent a clear message to the world that harmony and cohesion is the way forward for humanity, Noura Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Culture and Youth, and Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay said yesterday in a joint statement.
The UAE is funding a Unesco project to rebuild three historic religious sites in central Mosul.
The words Pope Francis uttered later in a packed church and in front of a larger crowd in Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil showed the pontiff had listened to the Iraqis’ plight.
He offered them advice during his visit to Qaraqosh.
“I encourage you: don’t forget who you are and where you come from. Do not forget to preserve your roots,” he said.
“Even in the ravages of terrorism and war, we can see the triumph of life over death.”
Through the shattered streets of Mosul, Pope Francis’s message of forgiveness and coexistence rang out yesterday as the pontiff toured the north on the final full day of his visit to Iraq.
Meeting Christians returning to rebuild their lives three years after the fall of ISIS, Pope Francis urged all communities to come together to preserve the living soul of Iraq.
“Such a richly diverse cultural and religious fabric – as this is – is weakened by the loss of any of its members, no matter how small,” he said at a prayer service for the victims of the war.
“As with one of your intricately designed carpets, if one small thread is removed it damages the entire carpet.
“How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilisation, should have been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of people – Muslims, Christians, Yazidis – cruelly annihilated by terrorism, and others forcibly displaced or killed.”
The Pope’s visit to Church Square in Mosul, surrounded by the ruins of religious buildings destroyed by ISIS militants, shone a spotlight on the work being done to rebuild the town, UAE Minister of Culture and Youth Noura Al Kaabi and Unesco director general Audrey Azoulay said of the visit.
The UAE is funding the Unesco reconstruction of religious buildings in the area.
After Mosul, the Pope took a short helicopter flight to Qaraqosh – once the capital of Christian Iraq until it was almost wiped out by ISIS.
“The road to a full recovery may still be long, but I ask you, please, not to grow discouraged,” he said from an ancient church burnt down by ISIS as it overran the town in 2014.
“What is needed is the ability to forgive, but also the courage not to give up.”
The gathering was a reminder of how much was nearly lost in Iraq and also how far it has come in the few short years since the defeat of ISIS – even if the road to reconstruction is long.
Thousands gathered along the main streets to welcome the pontiff, calling out and singing as he passed. Pope Francis stopped to bless children and the atmosphere was lively and happy.
“Since the war, I did not see the people of this town feeling so much joy,” said local priest Father Roni Momika. He said several thousand people attended a Mass in Qaraqosh.
Pope Francis, 84, visited areas that most western diplomats and foreign delegations consider too dangerous to include on their itineraries.
“Our people expected a visit from the Pope to Iraq, but we didn’t expect that he would visit Al Hamdaniya,” Issam Bahnam, the mayor, told The National, using Qaraqosh’s alternative name.
“The Pope visits the capital of countries he arrives to, but a small city like Baghdeda or Qaraqosh is something unheard of. This visit will erase the pain our people went through.”
After the visit, the Pope went to Erbil to celebrate Mass for more than 10,000 Christians at the Franso Hariri Stadium.
He circled the stadium in the Popemobile – a customised white G-Wagon – before the service that included a homily calling, yet again, to look ahead together to better times.
“Here in Iraq, how many of your brothers and sisters, friends and fellow citizens bear the wounds of war and violence, wounds both visible and invisible?” he asked. “The temptation is to react to these and other painful experiences with human power and human wisdom. Instead, Jesus shows us the way of God – the path he took, the path on which he calls on us to follow.”
He gave more insight into why he was so keen to visit Iraq.
“Even in the midst of great
poverty and difficulty, many of you have generously offered concrete help and solidarity to the poor and suffering – that is one of the reasons I was compelled to come as a pilgrim, to thank you. It is clear that the Church is alive, that Christ is here in his holy people. I commend you, your families, your communities to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, who was united with her son in his passion and death.”
As he concluded the Mass, the pontiff vowed to keep Iraq in his heart even on his return to the Vatican today.
“In my time among you, I have heard voices of sorrow and loss, but also voices of hope and consolation,” he said.
“Now the time draws near for my return to Rome. Yet Iraq will always remain with me, in my heart.”