When the pontiff touches down in Baghdad on Friday, it will be the culmination of a Vatican trip decades in the planning.
Pope Francis will be the first pope to ever visit this area of great biblical importance — home to ancient civilizations. His trip is happening despite escalating violence, rising COVID cases and international concerns.
Questions about the timing of trip were raised repeatedly at a recent Vatican press conference. But it was the pope himself who addressed these concerns on Wednesday before his departure.
“The Iraqi people are waiting for us,” the pope said. “They awaited St. John Paul II who was not permitted to go. One cannot disappoint a people for a second time.”
St. John Paul II had tried without success to undertake this same trip to only be blocked by concerns of safety and political instability.
The church says the visit, which will last from March 5 to March 8, is to show support to the people of Iraq after years of violence.
The pope wants to use this trip not only to support the Christian Iraqis, but to reach out to all the religious communities in Iraq. In Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, who is a prophet important to Christians, Muslims and Jews, the pope will hold an interfaith meeting that will include readings from the Quran. Members of all the main religious segments have been invited.
Source-ABC
