Continuing his visit to Iraq, Pope Francis met Ali as Sistani, an influential Shiite cleric, on Saturday, March 6, in the south of the country in Naffa.
This meeting is a historic page in the Roman Catholic Pope’s efforts to engage in dialogue with other religions. During the meeting with the Great Ayatollah, Francis was told that Christians, like all Iraqis, must live in peace and security.
After the meeting, the Pope went to Ur, where the interfaith worship prayed for the entire Middle East region.
Ur is mentioned in the Bible as the abode of the Old Testament patriarch Abram.
“From this birthplace of faith, from the land of our father Abram, let us testify that God is merciful and that the greatest blasphemy is the wicked wearing of his name, hating our brothers and sisters. Hostility, extremism and violence are not born from a religious heart. It is a transfer of religion, “the pope said.
On Sunday, March 7, the pope will travel to northern Iraq, to autonomous Kurdistan, Mosul and Karakosha, where he will pray for the victims of the jihadist Islamic State.
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