Pope Visits IS-Ravaged Mosul, Iraq... "Hope Is Stronger Than Hate"

"Do Not Lose Hope," Urges Reconstruction
Comforts Kurdish Father in Arbil

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] On the last day of his itinerary, Pope Francis, who visited Iraq for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church in 2000, visited Mosul, which was reduced to ruins due to the Sunni extremist terrorist organization Islamic State (IS), and emphasized hope to the residents and believers.

According to foreign media including the AP News on the 7th (local time), the Pope arrived in Mosul by helicopter early in the morning from Erbil, a city in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region in northern Iraq, on the last day of his three-day visit to Iraq. The Pope gave a speech in Mosul Square, adjacent to a church destroyed during the war with IS from 2014 to 2017, appealing for peaceful coexistence.

The Pope lamented, "How cruel it is that this country, once the cradle of civilization, suffered from such barbaric attacks, with ancient places of worship destroyed, and countless Muslims, Christians, and Yazidis forcibly displaced or killed." He continued, "But today, we reaffirm that brotherhood lasts longer than fratricide, hope is stronger than hatred, and peace is more powerful than war."

Previously, Mosul was the largest stronghold of IS until its defeat in 2017, and many Muslims and Christian believers were massacred there. In Nineveh Province in northern Iraq, where Mosul is located, hundreds of thousands of Christians had to flee due to IS attacks.

The Pope then visited Karakosh, a city 30 km from Mosul, to celebrate Mass. Karakosh is Iraq's oldest and largest Christian town, which was destroyed when IS took control in 2014 and has been gradually restored since 2017. At the Karakosh Cathedral Mass, the Pope urged the faithful, "Do not stop dreaming. Do not give up. Do not lose hope," comforting them by saying, "Now is the time to rebuild and start again."

After returning to Erbil in the Kurdistan Autonomous Region, the Pope celebrated Mass and met with Abdullah Kurdi, the father of Alan Kurdi, a Syrian refugee baby who drowned in 2015 while trying to cross by refugee boat, offering consolation. Earlier, Alan, his brother, and mother drowned in September 2015 when their small boat capsized while traveling from Turkey to the Greek island of Kos with other refugees. A photo of Alan lying face down on the southwestern coast of Turkey became a symbol that awakened the world to the tragedy of Syrian refugees.

After completing his visit to Erbil, the Pope will move to the capital Baghdad and is scheduled to conclude his 3-night, 4-day itinerary in Iraq by departing for Rome the next morning.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.