Pope Francis meets victims of ISIS in Iraq: “Terrorism never has the last word”

Coming from the devastated Mosul, where he saw the destruction caused by the jihadists and the months of fighting, the The Pope arrived for the Angelus prayer at the Cathedral of the Immaculate in Qaraqosh, which Christians call Bajdida in Aramaic, completely rebuilt after being set on fire by the jihadists.

Songs and children with flowers in hand accompanied Francisco’s arrival at this imposing cathedral, which was burnt down and completely destroyed by ISIS and whose reconstruction was completed a few months ago.

“Our meeting shows that terrorism and death never have the last word. The last word belongs to God and to his Son, victorious over sin and death, ”he told the faithful. “The time has come to rebuild and start over, entrusting ourselves to the grace of God, which guides the destiny of each man and of all peoples. You’re not alone! The whole Church is with you, through prayer and concrete charity, ”he said.

He encouraged them “not to forget who they are and where they come from, to keep the bonds that unite them and to keep their roots” and although “faith can waver, when it seems that God does not see and do not act ”, as in the darkest times of war, and also in these days of global health crisis and great insecurity,“ in these times, remember that Jesus is by your side ”.

But also, François asked them to have “the capacity to forgive and at the same time the courage to fight”. Forgiveness is necessary to remain in love, to remain a Christian. There may still be a long way to go to a full recovery, but I ask you, please, not to be discouraged. “

Francisco listened to the chilling testimonies of that time in 2014, when more than 150,000 Christians escaped terrorists with what little they could.

“On the morning of August 6, Bajdida woke up to the sound of the bombardments. We all knew ISIS was coming because three weeks earlier it had invaded Yazidi towns and villages. That’s why we left our homes, but came back three days later, ”said Doha Sabah Abdallah, 38.

But that morning, “we heard a huge roar, a mortar hit that forced us to leave our homes. The voices of the children playing outside are silent and the cries of the adults have been heard ”.

Doha lost in this attack his young son, another boy and his neighbor, a young woman who was soon to be married. “The martyrdom of these three angels was a clear warning. We had to leave, without these deaths we would have stayed and we would have fallen into the hands of the Islamic State ”.

“Their death saved our lives, even if it is difficult to accept”, declared this woman in front of the Pope.

MOSUL, THE LEFT ISIS CITY IN RUINS

The Pope asserted that “peace is stronger than war” by presiding over a prayer for the victims of all wars in Hosh al Bieaa (of the four churches) square in Mosul, liberated in 2017 after being for three years the great stronghold of the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS), whose action he defined as an “inhuman storm”. “It is cruel that this country, 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 and others – forcibly evicted or killed, “Francisco stressed.

The Pope also presided over a prayer amid the ruins of the devastated city which is still under reconstruction, precisely in the same place where the jihadist leader, Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, proclaimed the caliphate in 2014.

The square is surrounded by four churches of different rites and Christian denominations: Syriac Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Chaldean Catholic, which were damaged or destroyed during the occupation of ISIS.

“Here in Mosul, the tragic consequences of war and hostility are too obvious. Today, despite everything, we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is stronger than fratricide, hope is stronger than death, peace is stronger than war “, condemned.

In October 2016 – and with air support from the United States and its allies – Iraqi troops launched a military campaign to liberate the city. The fight was also joined by Kurdish fighters, Sunni-Arab tribes and Shiite militants. The city of Mosul was finally liberated in 2017.

“The voice of hatred and violence can never be silenced in the blood shed by those who desecrate the name of God by walking through paths of destruction”, underlined the Pope.

The humanitarian crisis in Mosul has forced nearly half a million people, including 120,000 Christians, to leave their homes and embark on an uncertain journey in search of a better future.

The Pope deplored the forced displacement of many Christian families who had to abandon their homes, which resulted in “a tragic decrease in the followers of Christ” and “incalculable damage”. In this sense, he defended the return of the Christian community to Mosul to “assume its own vital role in the process of healing and renewal”.

The United Nations (UN) described the Pope’s visit to the Iraqi city of Mosul as a “symbol of hope”. “@Pontifex’s visit to the city of Mosul in northern Iraq this weekend will be a symbol of hope and an opportunity to join forces for peace and unity,” said the United Nations. Education, science and culture (UNESCO) on his Twitter account.

WILL BLESS A HEADLESS STATUE OF THE VIRGIN

The Pope plans to bless, in the penultimate leg of his trip to Iraq, a statue of the Virgin Mary who was beheaded in the Christian village of Karamles, located between Mosul and Erbil, during the occupation of the villages of the plains of Nineveh by part of the Islamic State between 2014 and 2017.

The statue remains without hands as they were shot down by terrorists. It also had no head but it has been restored and reattached. The blessing will take place this Sunday during the mass he will celebrate in the stadium of Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, the most massive event of the trip, which around 10,000 Iraqi Catholics are expected to attend.

According to data from local authorities in Kurdistan, some 4,500 people have registered to attend the Eucharist, which will be protected by strict security measures. A special identity card issued by the Catholic University of Erbil will be required to enter.

On the first day of the trip to Iraq, the Pope had first contact with a church that was the target of terrorist violence. He had a meeting with the country’s clergy in the Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Salvation, also known as Sayidat al Nejat, who in 2010 suffered a brutal attack while celebrating a Sunday mass in during which about 50 people died, including two priests.

The process of beatification of deceased Catholics within the Church moved from the diocesan phase to the Vatican in October 2019.

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