Post by Jaga on Mar 6, 2021 5:20:35 GMT -7
I admire this pope and his visit to Iraq and also the meeting with this revered Shia cleric.
www.cnn.com/2021/03/06/middleeast/pope-francis-nayaf-grand-ayatollah-intl-hnk/index.html
Pope Francis holds historic meeting with revered Shia cleric in Iraq's Najaf
By Mohammed Tawfeeq, Ben Westcott and Ivana Kottasová,
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN)Pope Francis has held a historic meeting with revered Shia Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on the second day of the pontiff's visit to Iraq.
The 45-minute papal meeting in the holy city of Najaf with the 90-year old al-Sistani -- who rarely appears in public -- represented one of the most significant summits between a pope and a leading Shia Muslim figure in recent years.
During the meeting, broadcast on al-Iraqiya state TV, al-Sistani thanked Francis for making an effort to travel to Najaf and told him that Christians in Iraq should live "like all Iraqis in security and peace, and with their full constitutional rights," according to a statement released by the Grand Ayatollah's office.
Behind the scenes as Pope makes historic trip to Iraq
Behind the scenes as Pope makes historic trip to Iraq 02:30
The Pope in turn thanked al-Sistani and the Shia Muslim community for "[raising] his voice in defense of the weakest and most persecuted, affirming the sacredness of human life and the importance of the unity of the Iraqi people," according to a statement from the Holly Sea.
The Pope also stressed the importance of collaboration and friendship between religious communities.
Pope Francis's four-day tour of Iraq across six cities is the first papal visit to the country, and Francis' first trip outside Italy since the coronavirus pandemic began.
After Najaf, the Pope traveled to Nasiriya, where he held an inter-religious meeting on the plain of Ur, considered the birthplace of Abraham.
In Ur, the Pope spoke about the violence that has plagued Iraq in recent years. "All its ethnic and religious communities have suffered. In particular, I would like to mention the Yazidi community, which has mourned the deaths of many men and witnessed thousands of women, girls and children kidnapped, sold as slaves, subjected to physical violence and forced conversions," he said.
In the speech, Francis also praised the recovery efforts in Northern Iraq, where ISIS terrorist destroyed historical sites, churches, monasteries and other places of worship. "I think of the young Muslim volunteers of Mosul, who helped to repair churches and monasteries, building fraternal friendships on the rubble of hatred, and those Christians and Muslims who today are restoring mosques and churches together," he said.
The Pope speaks at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on Friday.
www.cnn.com/2021/03/06/middleeast/pope-francis-nayaf-grand-ayatollah-intl-hnk/index.html
Pope Francis holds historic meeting with revered Shia cleric in Iraq's Najaf
By Mohammed Tawfeeq, Ben Westcott and Ivana Kottasová,
Baghdad, Iraq (CNN)Pope Francis has held a historic meeting with revered Shia Muslim cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani on the second day of the pontiff's visit to Iraq.
The 45-minute papal meeting in the holy city of Najaf with the 90-year old al-Sistani -- who rarely appears in public -- represented one of the most significant summits between a pope and a leading Shia Muslim figure in recent years.
During the meeting, broadcast on al-Iraqiya state TV, al-Sistani thanked Francis for making an effort to travel to Najaf and told him that Christians in Iraq should live "like all Iraqis in security and peace, and with their full constitutional rights," according to a statement released by the Grand Ayatollah's office.
Behind the scenes as Pope makes historic trip to Iraq
Behind the scenes as Pope makes historic trip to Iraq 02:30
The Pope in turn thanked al-Sistani and the Shia Muslim community for "[raising] his voice in defense of the weakest and most persecuted, affirming the sacredness of human life and the importance of the unity of the Iraqi people," according to a statement from the Holly Sea.
The Pope also stressed the importance of collaboration and friendship between religious communities.
Pope Francis's four-day tour of Iraq across six cities is the first papal visit to the country, and Francis' first trip outside Italy since the coronavirus pandemic began.
After Najaf, the Pope traveled to Nasiriya, where he held an inter-religious meeting on the plain of Ur, considered the birthplace of Abraham.
In Ur, the Pope spoke about the violence that has plagued Iraq in recent years. "All its ethnic and religious communities have suffered. In particular, I would like to mention the Yazidi community, which has mourned the deaths of many men and witnessed thousands of women, girls and children kidnapped, sold as slaves, subjected to physical violence and forced conversions," he said.
In the speech, Francis also praised the recovery efforts in Northern Iraq, where ISIS terrorist destroyed historical sites, churches, monasteries and other places of worship. "I think of the young Muslim volunteers of Mosul, who helped to repair churches and monasteries, building fraternal friendships on the rubble of hatred, and those Christians and Muslims who today are restoring mosques and churches together," he said.
The Pope speaks at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad on Friday.