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Cradle of Civilization Pope's Visit to Ur

by Oui Thu Mar 4th, 2021 at 07:38:01 PM EST

A three day pilgrimage made under difficult circumstances to be amongst the suffering as a sign of hope. Pope Francis wil meet with the respected Shia leader Sistani. The travel to fulfill a promise is more important than the risk for his personal safety.

Pope Francis to meet top Shia leader Sistani on Iraq visit | Al Jazeera |

Pope Francis will meet top Shia religious leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani during the first-ever papal visit to Iraq in March, a senior Catholic cleric told the AFP news agency on Thursday.

Louis Sako, the patriarch of Iraq's Chaldean Catholic Church, said it would be a "private visit" between the two religious figures "without formalities".

Sako said he hoped the two figures would sign the document on "human fraternity for world peace", an interreligious text condemning "extremism" that Pope Francis signed with the leading Sunni scholar, the grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, in 2019.

Pope Francis is set to be in Iraq from March 5 to 8, with visits planned to the capital Baghdad, the northern city of Mosul and Ur, where Abraham is said to have been born.

Iraq rockets

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Cradle of Civilization Pope's Visit to Ur | 30 comments (30 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Pope Francis Touches Down in Iraq (none / 1)
by Oui on Fri Mar 5th, 2021 at 11:47:10 AM EST
Re: Pope Francis Touches Down in Iraq (none / 1)
by Oui on Fri Mar 5th, 2021 at 11:49:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Coverage Iran PressTV (none / 1)

Pope Francis in Iraq: live updates from the pontiff's landmark four-day trip | The National - UAE |

by Oui on Fri Mar 5th, 2021 at 12:47:31 PM EST
Re: Cradle of Civilization Pope's Visit to Ur (none / 0)

Cathedral Sayidat al Najat (Our Lady of the Salvation or Our Lady of Perpetual Help) in Baghdad | Mesopotamia Heritage |

by Oui on Fri Mar 5th, 2021 at 09:13:20 PM EST
Kurdistan: Christian Suburb Erbil (none / 0)
by Oui on Fri Mar 5th, 2021 at 09:16:47 PM EST
Re: Kurdistan: Christian Suburb Erbil (none / 0)
by Oui on Fri Mar 5th, 2021 at 09:18:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Kurdistan: Christian Suburb Erbil (none / 0)
by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 08:27:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Kurdistan: Christian Suburb Erbil (none / 0)
by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 08:28:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Meeting Shia Cleric al-Sistani Pope's Visit to Ur (none / 0)
by Oui on Sat Mar 6th, 2021 at 08:06:30 AM EST
Photo's al-Sistani Meeting Pope Francis (none / 0)
by Oui on Sat Mar 6th, 2021 at 08:16:32 AM EST
Re: Photo's al-Sistani Meeting Pope Francis (none / 0)
by Oui on Sat Mar 6th, 2021 at 08:18:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Visit Is a Continuation of Interfaith Dialogue (none / 0)
by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 11:48:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Second Day Visit to Najaf and Nasiriyah (none / 0)
Are there Christians in Iraq? In 2003 before the American invasion, the number was estimated at 1.4 million. Today the number is down to between 200k and 300k. Great move from George Bush and his evangelical backers.

How dangerous is Pope Francis' visit to Iraq? Thousands of Iraqi soldiers are on standby | The National - UAE |

The Pope is not expected to visit downtown Nasiriyah, where anti-government protesters have clashed repeatedly with the security forces since October 2019.

It is unclear if the bloody uprising against corruption, nepotism, poor governance and unemployment will overshadow the pontiff's visit to Iraq's south when he visits the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur, the birthplace of Abraham - the patriarch of the three great monotheistic religions.

by Oui on Sat Mar 6th, 2021 at 03:23:51 PM EST
Re: Second Day Visit to Najaf and Nasiriyah (none / 0)
the three great monotheistic religions.

Isn't Sikhism monotheistic? How do you define "great"? I'm pretty sure that there are more Sikhs that Jews. And traditionally, Jews didn't regard Christianity as monotheistic.....

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sat Mar 6th, 2021 at 05:26:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Second Day Visit to Najaf and Nasiriyah (none / 0)
Indeed ...  Jesus and Nada

A few others ...

Ahura Mazda god of Zoroastrianism

Have the ultra Orthodox distanced themselves from the Golden Calf?

by Oui on Sat Mar 6th, 2021 at 06:32:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Cradle of Civilization Pope's Visit to Ur (none / 1)

Iraqi Shiite leader Sistani tells Pope Francis that Christians must be protected | Times of Israel |

When the time came, the 84-year-old pontiff's convoy, led by a bullet-proof vehicle, pulled up along Najaf's narrow and column-lined Rasool Street, which culminates at the golden-domed Imam Ali Shrine, one of the most revered sites in the world for Shiites.

He then walked the few meters (yards) to al-Sistani's modest home, which the cleric has rented for decades. A group of Iraqis wearing traditional clothes welcomed him outside.

The official said al-Sistani, who normally remains seated for visitors, stood to greet Francis at the door of his room, a rare honor. Al-Sistani and Francis sat close to one another, without masks, with their hands on their laps. A small table was between them with a box of tissues on it.

The official said there was some concern about the fact that the pope had met with so many people the day before. Francis has received the coronavirus vaccine but al-Sistani has not.

The visit was being carried live on Iraqi television, and residents cheered the meeting of two respected faith leaders.

by Oui on Sat Mar 6th, 2021 at 03:26:34 PM EST
Ur of the Chaldeans (none / 0)
    "From this place, where faith was born, from the land of our father Abraham, let us affirm that God is merciful and that the greatest blasphemy is to profane his name by hating our brothers and sisters. Hostility, extremism and violence are not born of a religious heart: they are betrayals of religion."

by Oui on Sat Mar 6th, 2021 at 03:30:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Cradle of Civilization Pope's Visit to Ur (none / 0)

Pope urges Abrahamic religions to pursue path of peace in Iraq

Pope Francis meets with representatives of the three Abrahamic religions at Ur of the Chaldeans in Iraq, and urges Christians, Muslims, and Jews to journey along a path of peace under the stars of the promise God made to Abraham.

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 07:58:14 AM EST
Third Day Papal Visit to Mosul (none / 0)

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 08:23:00 AM EST
Visiting Qaraqosh, Assyrian City of or Al-Hamdaniy (none / 0)
by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 11:57:40 AM EST
Re: Visiting Qaraqosh, Assyrian City Al-Hamdaniy (none / 0)

Iraq after ISIL: Qaraqosh, Hamdaniya District and Ninewa Plains

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 11:59:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Visiting Qaraqosh, Assyrian City Al-Hamdaniy (none / 0)
From the diaries ...

Sunday Wankery: The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige | @BooMan by Zander in 2007 |

Freed from ISIS, but Iraq's Qaraqosh is now a ghost town | Al Arabiya - March 2017 |

Nineveh province was the most volatile and dangerous under US occupation and its aftermath. With the papal visit Iraq illustrates it has become a state. A lot of healing is required and no meddling by bombing from international powers are needed.

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 12:00:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Visiting Qaraqosh, Assyrian City Al-Hamdaniy (none / 0)
Christian VP Shunned by Arab States Flies to Kabul | Dec. 22, 2017 |

In the mountains of Syria, the valleys of Lebanon, on the plains of Nineveh, the plateaus of Armenia, on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, the delta of the Nile, the fathers and mothers of our faith planted seeds of belief. They've blossomed and borne fruit ever since.

But now that garden of faith, generations in the making, is under threat. It's under threat of persecution and mistreatment. Many of the Christian communities that first embraced the message of Christ are today the targets of unspeakable acts of violence and atrocity.

Finding Afghanistan and Iraq hostile and too dangerous a place, VP Pence received diverse denominations of Christian community for a prayer meeting inside the security of the White House.

Soleimani and the defeat of Islamic State in Iraq

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 12:03:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Tweet PressTV Iraq security and Hero Soleimani (none / 0)

Iran's ISIS Policy | Chatham House |

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 12:06:42 PM EST
Qaraqosh in Nineveh province (none / 0)
Single post here @EuroTrib

h/t In Wales

France urges UN Security Council meeting as Islamic State seizes Christian town | News | DW.DE | 07.08.2014

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius called for a meeting of the UN Security Council after Islamist militants in northern Iraq seized the country's largest Christian town and nearby villages.

The new gains by "Islamic State" (IS) militants have reportedly prompted thousands of Christians to flee the northern town of Qaraqosh and surrounding areas, residents and Christian clerics said.

"Given the seriousness of the situation - the first victims of which are civilians and religious minorities - France is requesting an urgent meeting of the Security Council so the international community can mobilize to counter the terrorist threat in Iraq and support and protect the population at risk," Fabius said in a statement.

A very bad year for Europe and the Middle East ... Maidan - Crimea - MH17 - MIVD and Moscow. A year later Russia intervenes militarily in Syria.

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 12:31:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Pope Celebrates Mass In Franso Hariri Stadium (none / 0)
by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 03:32:38 PM EST
Re: Pope Celebrates Mass In Franso Hariri Stadium (none / 0)

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 03:33:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Cradle of Civilization Pope's Visit to Ur (none / 0)
Pope Francis Ends with a Message of Hope and Peace

Thousands of people filled a sports stadium in the northern Kurdish-Iraqi city of Irbil for an open-air mass held by Pope Francis. An estimated 10,000 people erupted in cheers when he arrived and did a lap around the track in his open-sided pope mobile, the first and only time he has used it on this trip due to security concerns. During the mass, which was the final event of the Pope's visit to Iraq, the pontiff declared that the church in the country was 'alive'.

[The Pope traveled in a motorcade of armoured vehicles ... easy to find his car as he was often seen waving to the crowd from an opened window ... a security nightmare - Oui]

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 06:55:55 PM EST
Re: Cradle of Civilization Pope's Visit to Ur (none / 0)
    The pope, who is foregoing the usual open-air pope mobile for this visit, traveled by armored car to Our Lady of Salvation church in the Karrada district in central Baghdad to pay his respects at the site of suicide bombing terrorist attack. Stopping at a memorial for the 48 victims, Francis called it a "hallowed place" where Christian martyrs "paid the ultimate price of their fidelity."

    "Their deaths are a powerful reminder that inciting war, hateful attitudes, violence or the shedding of blood are incompatible with authentic religious teachings," the pope told the Catholic clergy present.

by Oui on Sun Mar 7th, 2021 at 06:57:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Cradle of Civilization Pope's Visit to Ur (none / 0)
by Oui on Mon Mar 8th, 2021 at 09:20:56 PM EST
Cradle of Civilization Pope's Visit to Ur | 30 comments (30 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)


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