Much falls on Pope Francis’ shoulders. Many hopes are pinned on his historic trip to Iraq.
In addition to the formidable pressure to lift spirits in a war-torn country, there is a very real terrorist threat. It is a violent pandemic. On Friday, the pontiff heads to a country where ISIS tried not long ago to eliminate Christians. He will visit places that have been devastated, he will visit places that have historical significance for Christians, and some of his stops will be both.
“Everywhere in the country that Pope Francis will visit, there are scars – scars of war, of loss, of trauma,” wrote Mina Al-Oraibi, editor-in-chief of The National newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, in her newspaper at last week. . “Today, Iraq is a battleground that fights against terrorism, corruption, COVID-19, militias and foreign intervention that seeks to weaken the country at all levels. Despite these wars, or perhaps despite them, the pope decided to embark on a four-day journey that will make him cross the country and reinforce the historic and natural place of Christians in Iraq and in the Arab world. “
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For an 84-year-old man who lost part of a lung at 21, this is a company.
Pope Francis will be the first pope to visit Iraq. He was vaccinated and so were the journalists who accompanied him, but the people on the ground were not. Vaccines in Iraq have not yet been launched. The papal nuncio to Baghdad – the Holy See’s ambassador to the country – has just arrived with COVID-19. He had been the person indicated on the ground for this trip.
For health risks as well as security issues, the pope’s visit to Iraq was at stake for some time. A double suicide bombing in Baghdad in January killed 32 people. The Pope continues.
“I am a pastor of suffering people,” he said.
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The pope will have to resign his beloved popemobile for security reasons, but that has not lessened expectations on the ground. Preparations for the trip are documented day by day. As Al-Oraibi has pointed out, relatively few dignitaries visit Iraq and, when they do, it is usually kept secret until they are on the ground. They are likely to stay in the Green Zone or other fortified sites. In contrast, the Vatican published the Pope’s itinerary well in advance.
He will visit the Church of Our Lady of Salvation, which was hit by six suicide bombers in 2010. He will visit Mosul, which ISIS took over in 2014 and maintained until 2017 and where the terrorist organization caused devastation, destroying or damaging among other valuable properties, a grouping of churches – Syriac Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Chaldean Catholic – known locally as Church Square. ISIS used the property to judge people, arrest them and for administrative work.
The pope will visit what remains of the complex and the symbolism will be powerful. Father Raed Adel is the last priest to live in Mosul.
“This site was used as a main center by the ISIS religious police,” said Adel. “A center for ISIS leadership. Therefore, this is an important issue, the Pope’s visit to this place which was the central administrative center of the Islamic State. It is here that the Islamic State said ‘we will go to Rome, we will occupy Rome, and cut off the Pope’s head. ‘”
The Christian community in Iraq is only a fifth the size it was when the 2003 war started. Optimists hope that the pope’s visit will help attract the exiled Christians back.
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A woman in Baghdad put it this way: “This visit gives us hope to join our land and our country, despite the suffering we are experiencing, the slaughter, kidnapping, massacres against Christians and churches and theft of [Christian-owned] property that continues today, “said Aklas Bahnam.” But, this visit will encourage many of our Christian people abroad to be optimistic and hope to be able to return. “
The head of the Chaldean Catholic Church said it would take more than a papal visit to bring Christians back en masse.
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“Christians, [the Pope] will encourage them to persevere, to remain persevering and also to rebuild the confidence of their neighbors, “said Louis Raphaël I Sako.” Encouraging people to return, this is not your job. This is the job of the government to create good conditions for them, security and also, you know, jobs and so on. Perhaps some people will return when conditions are normal, life is fair and dignity. And that can only happen when Iraq has a democratic regime and is also based on citizenship and to separate religion from the state. “
Planners are doing their best to ensure that social distance is observed and that some of the religious services will be small. But, apparently, 10,000 people are registered for an event planned for a stadium in Erbil, raising fears that a well-intentioned and necessary meeting will turn into a super-distributor event.
In addition to Erbil, the Holy Father will visit Ur, considered the birthplace of Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and will visit the most sacred city for Shias, Najaf. If ever there was a trip to take the breath away from sectarianism, this is it. An Iraqi expressed the hope that this high-level reconciliation visit will increase the perception of Christians among other communities in Iraq.