The Week
Pope Francis on Sunday was greeted by thousands of Iraqi Christians as he toured parts of the country's northern region that were once held by the Islamic State, including Mosul, a major city The Associated Press notes was once considered the heart of the so-called caliphate. "How cruel it is that this country, the cradle of civilization, should have been afflicted by so barbarous a blow, with ancient places of worship destroyed and many thousands of people — Muslims, Christians, Yazidis — who were cruelly annihilated by terrorism," Francis said in Mosul while surrounded by four hollowed-out churches nearly destroyed in the war to oust ISIS. "Today, however, we reaffirm our conviction that fraternity is more durable than fratricide, that hope is more powerful than hatred, that peace more powerful than war." Francis urged Iraq's Christians, a dwindling minority population, to both "forgive" and not "give up" along the way to a "full recovery." He also emphasized the assistance Mosul's Muslims provided to returning Christians, and prayed for the Yazidis, an ethnic minority that was brutally targeted by ISIS. In our photo of the week, Pope Francis attends a prayer vigil for the victims of war in Mosul, Iraq, a city once claimed by ISIS as its capital. pic.twitter.com/hjRIRsBppJ — TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 7, 2021 In Qaraqosh, a formerly ISIS-occupied Christian-majority town, journalists captured the "jubilant" atmosphere ahead of Francis' arrival. He then led a prayer service in a newly-refurbished church that had been gutted by ISIS. Five years ago ISIS occupied the Christian town of Qaraqosh. Today the pope is coming to town. The atmosphere is jubilant. Thousands have turned out. #iraq #PopeInIraq @TheNationalNews pic.twitter.com/DFskit0ZEV — Gareth Browne (@BrowneGareth) March 7, 2021 VIDEO: Pope Francis is greeted by Christians in the ancient Al-Tahera (Immaculate Conception) Church torched by the Islamic State group in 2014 in the northern Iraqi town of #Qaraqosh #PopeInIraq pic.twitter.com/BncQojvMqj — AFP News Agency (@AFP) March 7, 2021 More stories from theweek.comRead the words that will appear on the exterior of Obama's presidential library in Chicago7 spondiferously funny cartoons about the Dr. Seuss controversyWhy the Dr. Seuss 'cancellation' is chilling