Pope Francis arrives in Iraq, urges Muslims to embrace 'Christian neighbours'

On March 5, Pope Francis arrived in Iraq, marking the first-ever Papal visit to the Middle Eastern nation. Dressed in his traditional attire paired with a face mask, the pontiff repeated his call for the country to protect its centuries-old diversity, urging Muslims to embrace their Christian neighbours as a precious resource and asking the embattled Christian community to persevere. With Iraq, the 84-year-old Pope resumes his globetrotting papacy, spreading the message of peace and love.

“Only if we learn to look beyond our differences and see each other as members of the same human family,” Francis told Iraqi authorities in his welcoming address, “will we be able to begin an effective process of rebuilding and leave to future generations a better, more just and more humane world.”

Although Pope Francis, wore a mask on his flight from Rome to Baghdad and throughout his protocol visits, it came down when the leader sat down to talk. Experts had earlier showed scepticisms towards his visit as cases in Iraq rose. Till now, the country has reported a total of 719,121 positive cases of coronavirus. 

Pope’s pioneering trip is aimed at exhorting Iraq’s dwindling Christian communities and to promote greater dialogue with the country’s Shiite majority. In addendum, it would also mark the first-ever Papal meeting with grand ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. Pope is also scheduled to travel to Kurdistan and Iraqi cities of  Mosul and Qaraqosh, all of which were annihilated by the Islamic State in Iraq, which later transformed into the dreaded ISIS group.

Read: What To Expect As Pope Francis Starts A Historic Visit To Iraq?

Read: Pope Departs Rome For First-ever Visit To Iraq

Experts concerned about the visit 

Infectious disease experts, across the world,  are expressing concern about Pope Francis’ upcoming trip to Iraq, given a sharp rise in coronavirus infections there, a fragile health care system and the unavoidable likelihood that Iraqis will crowd to see him. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” Dr Navid Madani, virologist and founding director of the Center for Science Health Education in the Middle East and North Africa at Harvard Medical School’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute told AP.  Iraq with over703,778  cases and 13,458 deaths received its first batch of corona vaccines on March 2. 

Read:The Latest: Iraqis Gather Ahead Of Pope's Arrival

Read: Vatican Defends Pope's Iraq Trip Amid Coronavirus Surge, Calls It 'act Of Love'

Image : AP