Pope Francis' 33rd trip to Iraq is undoubtedly the one of the highest symbolic value.
Since 1990, which saw the invasion of Kuwait by the armies of Saddam Hussein, until the capture of Mosul in June 2014, this country appears as the epicenter of an earthquake, where civil war, Islamism and terrorism are mixed, and whose repercussions have not spared the world.
In a tense context, to the galloping Covid are added outbreaks of violence, François comes first as head of the Catholic Church.
He comes for the Christian, Chaldean, Assyrian, Syriac communities who suffered under the yoke of Daesh: upon his arrival, he went to the cathedral of Baghdad, where 48 faithful were murdered ten years ago.
Since the end of Saddam's Baathist regime, the number of Christians has dropped, their influence has declined: war, persecution (the letter "noun" - as Nazarene - was inscribed by Daesh on homes and businesses as a sign infamy)
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