Three years after Pope Francis’ apostolic trip to Iraq, Chaldean Archbishop Michael Najeeb of Mosul and Aqra tells Vatican News that the fruits of this historic visit are slowly beginning to manifest in this predominantly Muslim country, despite the persistent difficulties for Christians.
By Jean Charles Putzolu and Lisa Zengarini
On March 5, 2021, Pope Francis embarked on his historic journey Apostolic journey to Iraq, marking the first visit by a pontiff to the Middle Eastern country.
During his four-day stay, the Pope visited Baghdad, as well as the Plain of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham, and the cities of Najaf, Nassiriya, Erbil, Mosul and Qaraqosh, where he met with communities Christians and political and religious representatives. leaders.
The main objective of this trip was to bring closeness and spiritual support to the declining Christian communities in Iraq, still reeling from four years of persecution by the so-called Islamic State (IS) group, and to encourage dialogue and interfaith understanding.
Iraqi Christians are still victims of persecution
In a country of about 40 million people, the Christian population has been in steady decline for decades, from about 1.4 million in 2003 to about 250,000 today.
Archbishop Najeeb explained that although Pope Francis has brought comfort and encouraged expatriate Iraqi Christians to resettle after the military defeat of ISIS in 2017, many are still hesitant and several families continue to emigrate from the Nineveh Plain and Iraqi Kurdistan, due to persistent insecurity.
He said Christians in the area continue to face intimidation and potential violence from clashing local militias, and many of their homes destroyed during ISIS’s occupation remain in ruins. .
Meeting with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is the most positive outcome of the visit
One of the highlights of Pope Francis’ visit was his meeting with Iraq’s highest Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, and the declaration on fraternity that complemented the Abu Dhabi document that the pope signed in February 2019 with the Sunni grand imam of al-Sistani. Azhar., Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb.
According to Archbishop Najeeb, the event constitutes one of the most positive results of Pope Francis’ visit to Iraq and a further step towards mutual understanding between Christians and Muslims, also taking into account that Shiites represent between 60 and 65 % Population. Muslim population in the country.
“It was a great meeting which cleared up many misunderstandings,” he said. “We are no longer considered enemies”, but “as brothers in humanity”.
Islamist terrorism abuses religion
Finally, when asked about the current attitude of Iraqi Muslim leaders towards Islamist extremists, Archbishop Najeeb said that Muslims quickly realized that the radical Islamist views of ISIS did not represent true Islam and are opposed to it. “This form of Islam advocated by ISIS has, on the one hand, disfigured friendship between Sunni and Shiite Muslim communities, and on the other hand, Islam has also been used to distort interfaith friendship “, did he declare.
