Pope Francis to Iraq?

Photo: Iraqi refugees by Don Duncan / CNEWA

The Apostolic Nuncio raised that possibility yesterday.

From Aid to the Church in Need: 

The Apostolic Nuncio in Iraq, Archbishop Giorgio Lingua, expressed the hope that the Christians driven out of northern Iraq by the terrorist militia “Islamic State” would be able to return to their homes this year. The Nuncio said this to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on Tuesday in Bethlehem (Palestine), where he was attending a conference. “But if they do return it won’t be easy,” the Nuncio explained. “Alongside the reconstruction of destroyed houses and infrastructure such as schools, it will be necessary first and foremost to restore the trust in Muslim neighbours which had also been shattered. Many Christians feel their neighbours betrayed them because they looted their houses. So it will not only be necessary to repair houses, but also relationships.” 

…The Nuncio also stressed that Pope Francis was deeply concerned by Iraq and the situation of the Christians there. The Holy Father had shown this on various occasions, according to Lingua. When asked about the possibility of a Papal visit to Iraq he said: “The Holy Father is expected in Iraq both by the Church and the political powers, and even by non-Christians such as the Shiite leadership. I am impressed how great the consensus is concerning the figure of the Pope.” With a view to security concerns surrounding a visit by the Pope to Iraq, Lingua said: “I’m no expert in such matters. But everybody says that they would do everything to make the visit a success.” Archbishop Lingua continued that a possible visit would have to last longer than one day. “You can’t come to Iraq and not go to Ur, which Sunnis, Shiites and Christians all revere as the birthplace of Abraham. You can’t not go to Baghdad, because that’s the seat of government. And you can’t not go to Erbil, where the majority of Christian refugees live. I would therefore prefer a visit to be fixed for a later date and for it to be more extensive, rather than for it to be organised quickly, missing out on some opportunities.” 

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