By Leon Bent –
“Today, I can see at first hand that the Church in Iraq is alive, and that Christ is alive and at work in this, His holy and faithful people.” Too often, we “fall into the trap of thinking that we have to show others that we are powerful or wise” the Pope said during his visit there. Suffering from “wounds of war and violence” we are tempted to react “with human power, human wisdom.” “Yet, the truth is that all of us need the power and wisdom of God revealed by Jesus on the Cross,” said Pope Francis. There have been Christians in Iraq since the first Century A.D.
Iraq’s PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi greeted him at the airport, with a red carpet, Iraqis in national dress and songs from a largely unmasked choir. Hundreds of people lined the airport road as the Pope’s convoy, heavily chaperoned by police motorcycles, left for the city.
In a speech after being welcomed by Iraqi President Barham Salih, Pope Francis said he was very pleased to come to Iraq, which he described as the “cradle of civilisation”.
“May the clash of arms be silenced… may there be an end to acts of violence and extremism, factions and intolerance!” he said.
“Iraq has suffered the disastrous effects of wars, the scourge of terrorism and sectarian conflicts often grounded in a fundamentalism incapable of accepting the peaceful coexistence of different ethnic and religious groups.”
While at an Interreligious Meeting on the Plains of Ur, Abraham’s birthplace; Francis recalled a passage in Genesis where God calls on Abraham to look at the stars and imagine how numerous his descendants will be. Pope Francis indicated the only possible way for Iraq to emerge from insecurity, divisions, hatred and fanaticism: the path of true religiosity: “to adore God and love one’s neighbour.”
“In those stars, he saw the promise of his descendants, he saw us,” said Francis. The Pope invited the assembled Christians, Muslims, Jews and representatives of Iraq’s other minority faiths — including Yazidis and Sabean Mandeans — to see in the stars a message of unity. “They illumine the darkest nights because they shine together,” said Francis.
The Pope explained that the invitation of Jesus to love, which is the heart of the Beatitudes, even if it seems weak in the world’s eyes, in fact always triumphs. Standing in the midst of the ruins of the brutally, fiery and senseless violence committed by the ISIS; Jesus, on the other hand, changed history with the humble power of love, with His patient witness, which is what we are called to do; and this is how God fulfils His promises.
Referring to the historic region of Mesopotamia, which covered much of modern Iraq including Mosul, the Pontiff was terribly distressed. In an earthquake-like devastated place the Pontiff said in a sad tone that, “fraternity is more durable than fratricide.” He added, “Hope is more powerful than hatred; peace more powerful than war.”
In Mosul he visited Church Square to pray for the victims of the war with the Islamic State group, which left thousands of civilians dead. Surrounded by the tottering ruins of the square’s four churches, he said the exodus of Christians from Iraq and the broader Middle East had done “incalculable harm not just to the individuals and communities concerned but also to the society they leave behind”.
ISIS desecrated Christian places of worship beheading religious statues and planting booby-trap bombs. Tens of thousands of Christians fled IS control while those who remained faced having their property stolen and choosing between paying a tax, converting to Islam, leaving or facing death.
The wisdom of Jesus embodied in the Beatitudes, the Pope continued, calls for witness and offers divine promises, such as the kingdom of heaven, comfort, satisfaction or seeing the face of God, which guarantee unrivalled joy and never disappoint. He prayed for ALL of Mosul’s dead. “How cruel that the cradle of civilization has been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of people of several religions, forcibly displaced or killed,” he bemoaned.
Pope Francis thanked God with and for the Christians of Iraq, for the many witnesses “in our own time,” who are “often overlooked by the news,” yet are “precious in God’s eyes.” They are “witnesses who, by living the Beatitudes, are helping God to fulfil His promises of peace.”
Now, this final flourish! The Bishop’s of Rome’s visit to Iraq was a historic meeting between “minarets and bells!”
Leon Bent is an ex-Seminarian and studied the Liberal Arts and Humanities, and Philosophy, from St. Pius X College, Mumbai. He holds Masters Degree in English Literature and Aesthetics. He has published three Books and has 20 on the anvil. He has two extensively “Researched” Volumes to his name: Hail Full of Grace and Matrimony: The Thousand Faces of Love. He won The Examiner, Silver Pen Award, 2000 for writing on Social Issues, the clincher being a Researched Article on Gypsies in India, published in an issue of the (worldwide circulation) Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection, New Delhi.