Francisco was speaking to journalists on the flight to Iraq, where he will pay a three-day visit, one of the most difficult and risky in his pontificate, with the aim of being close to the Christian community in the country, brutally persecuted by terrorists of the so-called Islamic State ( HEY).
Inside the plane, the Pope was accompanied by 75 journalists, whom he said was “happy to resume international travel” after more than a year without being able to travel due to the limitations imposed by the covid-19.
Francisco received a copy of the price list established by IS for Christian girls and ‘Yazidis’ kidnapped by ‘jihadists’ and offered for sale as sex slaves.
The brutal persecution of Christians and minorities led the Pope to make the trip, which had already been postponed on other occasions due to the country’s instability and which John Paul II always wanted to do.
The Pope also received a copy of the book “I will be the last” by Nobel winner Yazidi Nadia Murad, which tells the story of her captivity when she was used as a sex slave by ISIS after the organization massacred her family.
Upon arrival at Baghdad airport, the Pope will be received by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kazemi and two children in traditional dress, who will offer him flowers.
After a discreet welcome ceremony, the Pope and the Head of Government will have a private meeting in one of the capital’s airport lounges.
Its first official acts will be a meeting with the country’s President, Kurdish Barham Salih, and a speech at the presidential palace before the authorities and members of the diplomatic corps.
Meanwhile, the Pope sent, by telegram, a message of greeting to the Palestinian population, when his plane flew over the territory, as he usually does when he enters the airspace of a country on his plane trips.
“As I flew over the Palestinian territories during my flight to Iraq, I extend my cordial greetings to his Excellency (the President, Mahmoud Abbas) and to all his dear citizens,” said Francisco in the telegram.
“I pray that the Most High bless the Palestinians with peace and well-being,” he added.
“I come as a pilgrim”
“I come as a pilgrim (…) to implore the Lord for forgiveness and reconciliation, after years of war and terrorism (…) and I come among you as a pilgrim of peace”, underlined the Pope, on Thursday, in a published video message on the eve of your departure.
In the video released, the Pope considered the Iraqi people “to be one family, made up of Muslims, Jews and Christians”.
The papal agenda includes meetings with the Catholic community, made up of 590,000 people, about 1.5% of the Iraqi population, as well as Christians from other churches and religious denominations, political leaders and the great Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the greatest Shiite authority in the country. parents.
The Pope will pass through Baghdad, Najaf, Ur, Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, Mosul and Qaraqosh.
According to Ecclesia, in 2003 there were about 1.4 million Christians in Iraq.
Before exile, most Christians were in the province of Nineveh, whose capital is Mosul.
According to data from Aid for Churches in Need (ACN), in the three years of war against the Islamic State (IS), 34 churches were totally destroyed, 132 were set on fire, 197 were partially damaged, as well as more than a thousand Christian homes were totally destroyed and more than three thousand burned, showing the degree of persecution to this religious minority that is concentrated mainly in the north of Iraq.
Deputy Foreign Minister Nizar Kheirallah stressed the symbolism of Francisco’s visit.
“Which foreign official can now refuse to come to Iraq if the pope does?”, Emphasized the head of the Iraqi Presidency.
In three days, the pope will have to travel more than 1,445 kilometers by helicopter or plane and will sometimes fly over areas where active elements of the ‘jihadist’ group EI are still hiding.
Symbol of the atrocities of IS fundamentalists is Mosul, the third largest city in Iraq, where the pope will say a prayer for the victims on Sunday.
Since physical detachment and the use of masks were not widely practiced by Iraqis, the organizers of the papal visit limited places for masses.
The Erbil stadium, with 20,000 seats, is only expected to receive about 4,000 worshipers for Sunday mass and Francis will be deprived of the usual crowd baths.
National confinement will also be enacted throughout the pope’s visit and “security forces will be deployed to protect the roads,” explained Deputy Foreign Minister Nizar Kheirallah.
In addition to concerns about covid-19, security will be on the alert, given that Erbil and Baghdad, the second most populous capital in the Arab world, with around 10 million inhabitants, have recently been the scene of rocket attacks against interests North Americans.
Pope Francis visits Iraq between March 5 and 8.
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