Where IS ruled, pope calls on Christians to forgive, rebuild
QARAQOSH, Iraq — Pope Francis urged Iraq’s Christians on Sunday to forgive the injustices against them by Muslim extremists and to rebuild as he visited the wrecked shells of churches and met ecstatic crowds in the community’s historic hear tland, which was nearly erased by the Islamic State group’s horrific reign.
“Fraternity is more durable than fratricide, hope is more powerful than hatred, peace more power ful than war,” the pontiff said during prayers for the dead in the city of Mosul, with the call for tolerance that has been the central message of his four-day visit to Iraq.
At each stop in northern Iraq, the remnants of its Christian population turned out, jubilant, ululating and decked out in colorful dress. Heavy security prevented Francis from plunging into the crowd as he would normally. Nonetheless, they simply seemed overjoyed that he had come and that they had not been forgotten.
Bells rang out for the pope’s arrival in the town of Qaraqosh.
Iraq’s Christian population, which has existed in Iraq since the time of Christ, has dwindled from around 1.5 million before the 2003 U.s.-led invasion that plunged the country into chaos to just a few hundred thousand today.
Francis’s visit, on its last day Sunday, aimed to encourage them to stay, rebuild and restore what he called Iraq’s “intricately designed carpet” of faiths and ethnic groups.
Throughout his four-day visit, Francis has delivered a message of interreligious tolerance to Muslim leaders, including in a historic meeting Saturday with Iraq’s top
Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-sistani.
But Christians say it will take real changes on the ground for them to be able to return and stay, saying they face discrimination and intimidation from Shiite militias on top of the economic hardships suffered by all Iraqis.
Qaraqosh resident Martin Auffee said he was overjoyed by the pope’s visit and appreciated that he showed he was with Christians as he urged them to endure. But the 27-year-old said many of the young in his area have grown weary of lack of opportunity.
“We don’t know for how long they can cling onto hope and continue to stay in Iraq because there’s a lot of pain, unemployment and uncertainty,” he said. “My whole life has been filled with pain, miser y, war, persecution and displacement. Things are difficult for those living here.”