On the second day of his Apostolic Journey to Iraq, Pope Francis traveled to Ur of the Chaldeans, the birthplace of the three major religions—Islam, Christianity, and Judaism.

His meeting there was billed as the highpoint of his efforts to promote interreligious dialogue and fraternity in the Middle Eastern nation.

“This blessed place brings us back to our origins, to the sources of God’s work, to the birth of our religions,” the Pope said in his speech to representatives of the three Abrahamic religions… Read more »

In 2010, 48 worshippers including women and children, and two young priests were killed in a terrorist attack at the Syro-Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation in Baghdad.

More than ten years on from that horrific event, Pope Francis came to this place of worship on Friday, the first day of his Apostolic Visit to Iraq.

There he met with bishops, clergy, religious, seminarians, catechists and lay leaders, noting that they were “gathered in this Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation, hallowed by the blood of our brothers and sisters who here paid the ultimate price of their fidelity to the Lord and His Church.”

Virus of discouragement

Addressing those present, the Pope told them never to lock down their apostolic zeal in the face of daily challenges, especially during this time of pandemic… Read more »

The Pope boarded an Alitalia A330 at Fiumicino airport on Friday morning to begin his visit to the Middle Eastern nation of Iraq.

The papal plane took off at 7:45 AM, and is due to land at Baghdad’s International Airport around 2 PM local time. This will be the first time a Pope visits Iraq.

Pre-trip encounter 

Before leaving the Casa Santa Marta on Friday morning, Pope Francis met briefly with around a dozen Iraqi refugees living in Italy. 

The refugees are assisted by the Community of Saint Egidio and the Auxilium Cooperative… Read more »

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

In our journey of catechesis on prayer, today and next week we will see how, thanks to Jesus Christ, prayer opens us up to the Trinity –to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit – to the immense sea of God who is Love. It is Jesus who opened up Heaven to us and projected us into a relationship with God… Read more »

Pope Francis’ first papal Apostolic Journey to Iraq is scheduled to begin on Friday, 5 March. During the four-day visit, the Pope will meet with Christian communities as well as civil and religious authorities.

This will be the Holy Father’s first trip abroad in about fifteen months as the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions on movement have posed a challenge to external travel… Read more »

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) has questioned some points of a resolution passed by the European Parliament on the so-called “right” to abortion in Poland in November 2020.

A letter issued by the Bishops on Monday and addressed to President of the European Parliament, David Maria Sassoli, stressed that the Catholic Church, which seeks to support women in life situations arising from difficult or unwanted pregnancies, “calls for the protection and care of all unborn life.”

“Every human person is called into being by God and needs protection, particularly when he or she is most vulnerable,” the Bishops said, adding that “special safeguard and care for the child, before and after birth is also expressed in international legal standards” including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child… Read more »