Iraq

In the spotlight: Mars mission, Ash Wednesday and winter weather.

Two days after the Iraqi government announced stringent COVID-19 precautions, including the closure of mosques and churches “until further notice,” the prime minister met with the Vatican nuncio to discuss “the preparation for the scheduled visit of His Holiness,” Pope Francis.

Despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and security concerns, Pope Francis hopes to visit Iraq March 5-8.

Asked about the role of U.S. Catholic journalists today, Pope Francis said, it is to promote unity and to “try to get people to talk to each other, reason together and seek the path of fraternity.”

Pope Francis’ March trip to Iraq is still on and he plans to meet personally with Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, leader of the country’s Shiite Muslim majority.

Iraqi Syriac Catholic refugee families are among the more than 100,000 Christians driven out from Iraq’s Ninevah Plain by the Islamic State in the summer of 2014.

Pope Francis sent a video message Dec. 10 to an online meeting about the Syrian and Iraqi humanitarian crises.

Hours after Iran launched more than a dozen ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases Jan. 7, Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued a statement calling for urgent prayers “that our world’s leaders will pursue dialogue and seek peace.”