ROME — Pope Francis met with Iraqi Catholics in Baghdad Friday, urging them to be strong and hopeful even in the midst of ongoing sufferings.
You draw your apostolic zeal “from very ancient roots, from the uninterrupted presence of the Church in these lands from the earliest times,” the pontiff told the group assembled in Baghdad’s Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation.
The world desperately needs to hear the message of Jesus Christ, “announced above all by the witness of lives transformed by the joy of the Gospel,” the pope told them on the first day of his historic trip. “As we see from the ancient history of the Church in these lands, a living faith in Jesus is ‘contagious;’ it can change the world.”
The witness of the saints “shows us that following Jesus Christ is not only a true and just thing, but also a beautiful thing, capable of filling life with a new splendor and a profound joy, even in the midst of trials,” he said.
“Difficulties are part of the daily experience of the Iraqi faithful,” Francis said, noting how ongoing effects of war and persecution have often led to “internal displacement and the migration of many, including among Christians, in other parts of the world.”
In his address, the pope held up the example of 48 Iraqi Catholics who were murdered by five Muslim terrorists on Oct. 31, 2010 in the same cathedral where he was standing. Their cause for beatification is ongoing.
“Their death strongly reminds us that incitement to war, hateful attitudes, violence and bloodshed are incompatible with religious teachings,” Francis said. “And I want to remember all the victims of violence and persecution, belonging to any religious community.”
Religion “must serve the cause of peace and unity among all the children of God,” he said, thanking his hearers for their “commitment to be peacemakers, within your communities and with believers of other religious traditions.”
You are part of salvation history, he said, “faithfully witnessing God’s promises, which never fail, and seeking to build a new future.”
“May your witness, matured in adversity and strengthened by the blood of martyrs, be a light that shines in Iraq and beyond, to announce the greatness of the Lord and to make the spirit of this people rejoice in God our Savior,” Francis concluded.
Iraq has lost over 90 percent of its Christian population nationwide over the past thirty years and estimates suggest there are only 200,000-250,000 Christians left in the country, a massive drop from the 1.4-2 million Christians in the 1990s.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.