QARAQOSH, Iraq (AP) – Pope Francis called on Iraqi Christians to forgive the injustices committed against them by Muslim extremists and to rebuild them while visiting the destroyed shells of churches and meeting with ecstatic crowds in the historic community center, almost erased by the Horrible reign of the Islamic State group.
At every stop in northern Iraq, the remnants of its Christian population turned out, jubilant, howling, dressed in colorful clothing, though strong security prevented Francis from sinking into the crowd as he normally would. Still, they seemed simply happy not to have been forgotten.
It was a sign of despair at the support of an old community that didn’t know if it could hold out. The traditionally Christian cities that dotted the plains of North Nineveh were emptied as Christians, as well as many Muslims, fled the attack by the Islamic State group in 2014. Only a few have returned home since the declared four years ago in Iraq in Iraq, and the rest remain scattered anywhere else in Iraq or abroad.
The bells rang in the city of Qaraqosh when the pope arrived. Speaking to a church full of the Immaculate Conception, Francis said “forgiveness” is a key word for Christians.
“The road to full recovery may still be a long one, but I beg you, please, not to be discouraged. What is needed is the ability to forgive, but also the courage not to give up. Qaraqosh Church has been extensively renovated after being vandalized by ISIS militants during the capture of the city, making it a symbol of recovery efforts..
For the Vatican, the continued presence of Christians in Iraq is vital to keeping alive the communities of faith that have existed here since the time of Christ. The population has shrunk by about 1.5 million before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that plunged the country into chaos to the current few hundred thousand.
Francis’ visit to Iraq, which took place on the last Sunday, was intended to encourage them to stay and help rebuild the country and restore what he called his “intricate carpet” of faith and groups. ethnic.
In shocking images the previous Sunday, Francis, dressed in white, took to the stage on a red carpet in a square in the main northern city, Mosul, surrounded by the gray shells of four empty churches, nearly destroyed during the war to oust him. Islam City State Group.
It was a scene that years before would have been unimaginable. Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, was at the heart of IS’s so-called “caliphate” and witnessed the worst of the group’s rule inflicted on Muslims, Christians and others, including beheadings and killings. massive.
“How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilization, would have been affected by such a barbaric blow,” Francis said, “with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of people (Muslims, Christians, Yazidis) who were cruelly annihilated. by terrorism and others forcibly displaced or killed “.
He deviated from his prepared speech to address the plight of the Iraqi Yazidi minority, which was the subject of mass killings, kidnappings and sexual slavery at the hands of ISIS.
“Today, however, we reaffirm our conviction that brotherhood is more lasting than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace is more powerful than war.”
The square where he spoke houses four different churches: Catholic Syriac, Armenian Orthodox, Orthodox Syriac and Chaldean, each left in ruins.
IS caused atrocities against all communities, including Muslims, during its three years of rule in much of northern and western Iraq. But the Christian minority was especially affected. The militants forced them to choose between conversion, death or the payment of a special tax for non-Muslims. Thousands fled, leaving behind homes and churches that were destroyed or controlled by extremists.
Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, became the bureaucratic and financial backbone of ISIS. It was from the al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul that the then leader of IS Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi made his only public appearance when he gave a sermon on Friday asking all Muslims to follow him as “caliph ”.
It took a fierce nine-month battle to finally liberate the city in July 2017, during which between 9,000 and 11,000 civilians were killed, according to an AP investigation at the time.. Al-Baghdadi died in a U.S. incursion into Syria in 2019. The war left a strip of destruction all over Mosul and the north, and many Iraqis have been left alone to rebuild them amid a financial crisis. years ago.
Reverend Raed Kallo was one of the few Christians to return to Mosul after the defeat of ISIS. “My Muslim brothers welcomed me after the liberation of the city with a lot of hospitality and love,” he said on stage in front of the pontiff.
Prior to IS, it had a parish of 500 Christian families. Most emigrated abroad and now only 70 families remain, he said. “But today I live among two million Muslims who call me their father Raed,” he said.
Gutayba Aagha, the Muslim head of the Independent Social and Cultural Council for Families in Mosul, encouraged other Christians to return.
“On behalf of the council, I invite all of our Christian brothers and sisters to return to this, to their city, their properties, and their businesses.”
Throughout his four-day visit, Francis has sent a message of interfaith tolerance and brotherhood to Muslim leaders, even at a historic meeting on Saturday with Iraq’s high Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
In Qaraqosh, Francis urged his residents to continue dreaming and forgiving.
“Forgiveness is necessary to remain in love, to continue to be a Christian,” he said.
He spoke after a Qaraqosh resident, Doha Sabah Abdallah, told him how his son and two other youths had been killed in a mortar strike on August 6, 2014 when ISIS was approaching the city. His death was the alarm for the rest of the residents to flee.
“The martyrdom of these three angels was a clear warning: if it were not for them, the people of Baghdede would have remained and inevitably fallen into the hands of ISIS,” referring to the name Qaraqosh used by the residents. “The death of three saved the whole city.”
He said it was now up to the survivors to “try to forgive the assailant.”
Before leaving Qaraqosh, the pontiff signed a book of honor, writing: “From this Church, destroyed and rebuilt, a symbol of the hope of Qaraqosh and all of Iraq, I pray to God, through intercession of the Virgin Mary, the gift of peace “.
Francis concludes the day with a mass at Irbil Stadium in the semi-autonomous northern Kurdish region, which is expected to attract up to 10,000 people. He arrived in Irbil early Sunday, where he was greeted by children in traditional costumes and a potato outfit.
Public health experts had expressed concern before the trip that large gatherings could serve as coronavirus spread events in a country suffering from a worsening outbreak where few have been vaccinated.
The Vatican has said it is taking precautions, including holding the open-air mass at a stadium that will only be partially filled. But throughout the visit, very close crowds have gathered, with many people not wearing masks. The pope and members of his delegation have been vaccinated, but most Iraqis have not.
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Kullab reported from Baghdad.