(ANSA) - MOSUL, 07 MAR - The Pope today in Mosul, in Northern Iraq, to pray for the victims of the war.
At Piazza delle Chiese, where the event takes place, the ruins of the war are still visible.
The streets and churches of the city bear the marks of devastation.
The Pope immediately spoke of the tragic exodus of Christians after the invasion of the Nineveh Plain by Isis.
"The tragic shrinking of the disciples of Christ, here and throughout the Middle East, is an incalculable damage not only for the people and communities concerned, but for the very society they leave behind," said the Pope. "Here in Mosul - continued - the tragic consequences of war and hostilities are all too evident. How cruel that this country, the cradle of civilization, has been hit by such an inhuman storm, with ancient places of worship destroyed and thousands and thousands of people, Muslims, Christians, Yazidis who were wiped out "by terrorism" and others forcibly displaced or killed! ".
"Today, despite everything, we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is stronger than fratricide, that hope is stronger than death, that peace is stronger than war".
The Pope is expected in Qaraqosh in the church of the Immaculate Conception that the terrorists had transformed into a shooting range.
In the afternoon he will close the day with Mass in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan.
(HANDLE).
