Pope France's visit to Iraq was a brave step on the path to peace and reconciliation – Angus Robertson

Don’t know about you, but I was surprisingly moved by the TV reports of the Pope’s visit to Iraq.
By Angus Robertson
Published 9th Mar 2021, 07:00 BST
Iraq's President Barham Saleh and his wife Sarbagh bid farewell to Pope Francis at Baghdad International Airport (Picture: Vatican Media/AFP via Getty Images)Iraq's President Barham Saleh and his wife Sarbagh bid farewell to Pope Francis at Baghdad International Airport (Picture: Vatican Media/AFP via Getty Images)
Iraq's President Barham Saleh and his wife Sarbagh bid farewell to Pope Francis at Baghdad International Airport (Picture: Vatican Media/AFP via Getty Images)

At significant personal risk, the 84-year-old pontiff travelled to the war-ravaged country on a visit to promote peace and coexistence for the country’s beleaguered Christian minority.

Surrounded by the ruins of churches destroyed by the Islamic State group in Irbil, Pope Francis said: "How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilisation, should have been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of people – Muslims, Christians, Yazidis and others – forcibly displaced or killed.

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“Today, however, we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace more powerful than war.”