Pope Francis celebrated the Mass of the First Pope in the Church of Saint Joseph in Baghdad, under the Chaldean rites. On the second day of his three-day tour of Iraq, the Pope expressed his regret in his preaching that the world is prioritizing the rich, powerful and famous. “Good to those who have, who can, and who matters.”, And criticized the Pope.
The historic tour was celebrated by the Iraqi president, Barham Saleh |, Of the Islamic religion, and met him on his first day in the country. Saleh attended the Pope’s Mass in a surprise thanks to the Pope’s close ties with the Chaldean community, the dominant branch of Catholicism in Iraq.
“Often times those with more means can gain more knowledge and have more opportunities, while those with less are taken down (…) It is an unacceptable inequality, and it has expanded today.” During a mass rally, tight security measures were taken for the epidemic, and in the presence of a number that did not reach 200 people.
Francis was also accompanied by Iraqi Catholic Cardinal Louis Raphael I Saco, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans and Head of the Chaldean Catholic Church. During the rituals, Francis reaffirmed his closeness to the persecuted Christians in Iraq. “Many of the brothers and sisters here also suffered from prejudice, abuse, abuse and persecution for the name of Jesus,” he said of the San Jose Church in the capital. According to Vatican dataThere is persecution of Christians that explains why The number of believers rose from 1.2 million to about 300,000 in the Asian country.
Before mass, the Pope met Ayatollah Sistani in Najaf, about 100 miles south of Baghdad. Regarded as the Grand Ayatollah in Iraq since 1993, Sistani is the greatest spiritual leader of Shiite Islam in Iraq and the most powerful man in that country today. Then the Pope went to Nasiriyah Where an interfaith meeting took place in the Plains of Ur, where tradition says that Patriarch Abraham was born, respected by the three great monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
In the afternoon, he returned to the capital to lead a mass at St. Joseph’s Chaldean Cathedral in the Iraqi capital. Pope chose Chaldean Rites To honor the Eastern Christian churches. He spoke Italian and the believers answered in Arabic.
