Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church visited Iraq in the Middle East for the first time as a pope and appealed for religious and ethnic reconciliation, saying that he needed to heal the physical and mental injuries caused by many years of war and terrorism.
Pope Francis resumed his suspended foreign visits since his visit to Japan in November following the spread of the new coronavirus, and visited Iraq for the first time as Pope on the 5th.
After being greeted by Prime Minister Kadimi at the airport in the capital Baghdad, a welcome ceremony was held at the Presidential Palace and a speech was given to government officials.
Among them, Pope Francis said that the Iraqi people had been devastated by war, terrorism, and sectarian conflict for many years, and it took time to heal their physical and mental injuries. "Religion, culture, and ethnicity Diversity is not an obstacle to Iraqi society, but a valuable asset, "he said, calling for religion and ethnic harmony.
During his stay until the 8th, Pope Francis will have a dialogue with Islamic religious leaders and visit Mosul in the north, which is dominated by the extremist organization IS = Islamic State, to pray to the victims.
Meanwhile, in Iraq, there are concerns about the deterioration of security, such as multiple rockets being shot at a base in the west where US troops are stationed on the 3rd of this month, and about 10,000 security personnel are guarding during the Pope's visit. It is supposed to hit.