ROME: The visit of Pope Francis to Iraq on March 5-8 will be “an exceptional event” for the nearly half a million Christians living in the country, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, head of the Chaldean Catholic Church, told Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.
“We had been waiting for a pope to come to Iraq for decades. We needed it immensely after all these years of darkness,” said Sako, whose family comes from the Iraqi city of Mosul, and whose appointment as cardinal by Pope Francis in 2018 was seen as a sign of the Vatican’s appreciation of the country’s Christians.
“The pope’s visit to Iraq sends a signal of hope, not only to our country, not only to the Christian community, but to the entire Middle East.”
After decades of war and pain, “the pope’s message of peace and brotherhood is of exceptional importance. He comes to tell us that religion does not divide; quite the opposite, it can unite,” said Sako.
“It helps to find common languages in God and in faith. We must put an end to the decline of civil coexistence,” he added. “The pope will come here to tell us that we are all brothers, all children of God.”
Sako said he does not believe that the pope will be in danger in Iraq. “The security measures taken are impressive. Daesh has lost strength,” he added.
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Head of Chaldean Church hails pope’s Iraq visit
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Head of Chaldean Church hails pope’s Iraq visit
- The head of the Chaldean Catholic Church said he does not believe that the pope will be in danger in Iraq
- “He comes to tell us that religion does not divide; quite the opposite, it can unite,” Sako said
USS Gerald Ford leaves Crete as Iran talks begin: AFP
- Its departure comes amid a new round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program
- Washington has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier, nine destroyers and three other combat ships
SOUDA, Greece: The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, sent to the Mediterranean this week in a military build-up to put pressure on Iran, left a naval base in Crete Thursday, an AFP photographer said.
Its departure came as a new round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program, mediated by Oman’s foreign minister, opened in Geneva Thursday morning.
The vessel has been at the US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay base in Crete since Monday. The US embassy in Athens has declined to comment on the carrier’s presence, forwarding questions to the Pentagon in Washington.
President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran last year. He has repeatedly threatened Tehran with fresh military action if it does not cut a new deal on its contentious nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at building an atomic weapon.
Washington has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier — the USS Abraham Lincoln — nine destroyers and three other combat ships.
It is rare for there to be two US aircraft carriers, which carry dozens of warplanes and are crewed by thousands of sailors, in the Middle East.
Its departure came as a new round of indirect talks between the United States and Iran on the latter’s nuclear program, mediated by Oman’s foreign minister, opened in Geneva Thursday morning.
The vessel has been at the US Naval Support Activity Souda Bay base in Crete since Monday. The US embassy in Athens has declined to comment on the carrier’s presence, forwarding questions to the Pentagon in Washington.
President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran last year. He has repeatedly threatened Tehran with fresh military action if it does not cut a new deal on its contentious nuclear program, which the West fears is aimed at building an atomic weapon.
Washington has more than a dozen warships in the Middle East: one aircraft carrier — the USS Abraham Lincoln — nine destroyers and three other combat ships.
It is rare for there to be two US aircraft carriers, which carry dozens of warplanes and are crewed by thousands of sailors, in the Middle East.
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