Recommendable! Whether Pope Francis trip to Iraq will match the significance of Pope John Paul II's trip to communist Poland remains to be seen, but a major step towards more interfaith reconciliation and more may have been taken.
"... The real story to Francis’ visit is three-fold: His visit will not only be perhaps the most significant event in post-Saddam Iraq’s diplomatic history, but it also mark a new beginning for Iraq’s Christian community, and highlight often unreported progress in interfaith relations. ...
As Baghdad has returned to normal—the sometimes-violent political protests that began in October 2019 notwithstanding—it has undergone not only a cultural rebirth but also a diplomatic one, with increasing numbers of European, Arab, and Asian embassies dotting the city. ...
Francis’ visit will be especially meaningful for Iraqi Christians. The Christian population declined precipitously after the U.S.-led invasion, both as Christians fled communal tensions capped off by the rise of the Islamic State and also because many Christians had better opportunities than other Iraqis to emigrate. ...
the Iraqi government seeks to honor and embrace its Christian community. In 2018, for example, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance redesigned the Iraqi 1,000-dinar note to replace a symbol bearing a Quranic verse with an Assyria star. Abdul Razzaq al-Issa, a Najaf-born Shi’ite politician and former president of Kufa University was responsible for the decision. Christians occupy high policy positions, including in the presidency, not because of confessional quotas but rather because they rise on their merits. Muslims in Mosul risked their lives to hide Christian relics from the Islamic State, and then gave them to returning Christian leaders after the Islamic State’s defeat. ...
Francis’ most important meeting will not be with Iraqi politicians, but rather Sistani, the most significant living Shi’ite religious leader today. Sistani has long been a calming presence in Iraqi society. When Sunni terrorists bombed Samara’s al-Askari Mosque in 2006, Sistani urged Shi’ites not to retaliate but when Mosul fell to the Islamic State eight years later, Sistani called upon Shi’ites to put their lives on the line for both Iraqi Sunnis and Christians. Behind-the-scenes and often unreported, Sistani has quietly elevated dialogue with Al Azhar University in Cairo, perhaps the Arab world’s leading Sunni study center. ...
With his three-day trip to Iraq, however, Francis marks perhaps the most momentous papal visit since Pope John Paul II visited Communist Poland in June 1979."
As Baghdad has returned to normal—the sometimes-violent political protests that began in October 2019 notwithstanding—it has undergone not only a cultural rebirth but also a diplomatic one, with increasing numbers of European, Arab, and Asian embassies dotting the city. ...
Francis’ visit will be especially meaningful for Iraqi Christians. The Christian population declined precipitously after the U.S.-led invasion, both as Christians fled communal tensions capped off by the rise of the Islamic State and also because many Christians had better opportunities than other Iraqis to emigrate. ...
the Iraqi government seeks to honor and embrace its Christian community. In 2018, for example, the Iraqi Ministry of Finance redesigned the Iraqi 1,000-dinar note to replace a symbol bearing a Quranic verse with an Assyria star. Abdul Razzaq al-Issa, a Najaf-born Shi’ite politician and former president of Kufa University was responsible for the decision. Christians occupy high policy positions, including in the presidency, not because of confessional quotas but rather because they rise on their merits. Muslims in Mosul risked their lives to hide Christian relics from the Islamic State, and then gave them to returning Christian leaders after the Islamic State’s defeat. ...
Francis’ most important meeting will not be with Iraqi politicians, but rather Sistani, the most significant living Shi’ite religious leader today. Sistani has long been a calming presence in Iraqi society. When Sunni terrorists bombed Samara’s al-Askari Mosque in 2006, Sistani urged Shi’ites not to retaliate but when Mosul fell to the Islamic State eight years later, Sistani called upon Shi’ites to put their lives on the line for both Iraqi Sunnis and Christians. Behind-the-scenes and often unreported, Sistani has quietly elevated dialogue with Al Azhar University in Cairo, perhaps the Arab world’s leading Sunni study center. ...
With his three-day trip to Iraq, however, Francis marks perhaps the most momentous papal visit since Pope John Paul II visited Communist Poland in June 1979."
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