(ANSA) - VATICAN CITY, MARCH 04 - "I come as a repentant pilgrim to implore the Lord for forgiveness and reconciliation after years of war and terrorism, to ask God for the consolation of hearts and the healing of wounds".
The Pope said this in a video message to the Iraqi people on the eve of his departure for Baghdad.
The Pope then addresses Christians in particular: "You have testified to your faith in Jesus in the midst of very hard trials, I await with trepidation to see you. I am honored to meet a martyr Church: thank you for your testimony! May the many, too many martyrs you have known help us. to persevere in the humble power of love ". "You still have in your eyes the images of destroyed houses and desecrated churches, and in your heart the wounds of affections left and abandoned houses. I want to bring you the affectionate caress of the whole Church - says Pope Francis -, which is close to you and to the tortured Middle East and it encourages us to go forward. To the terrible sufferings you have experienced and which pain me so much, let us not allow ourselves to prevail. Let us not give up before the spread of evil ".
(HANDLE).