On Monday the Vatican announced that Pope Francis aims to make the first ever papal visit to Iraq in March next year. The four-day itinerary includes the capital Baghdad and the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, Erbil.
Perhaps most symbolically, Pope Francis also plans to visit Mosul and Qaraqosh. Both cities have historic Christian congregations, which were devastated by ISIS’s takeover of the areas in 2014. The trip will also include the ancient city of Ur, purportedly the birthplace of the prophet Abraham, who is revered by all Abrahamic faiths.
Other popes have tried to visit Iraq, including former pope John Paul II in 2000. But so far circumstances, or the Vatican itself, have deemed all such attempts too difficult to see through.
It is unsurprising that Pope Francis, with his desire to go out into the world to build tolerance, has revived the idea. In February 2019, he made history with his visit to the UAE, the first visit by a pope to the Arabian Peninsula. In co-signing the “document on human fraternity for world peace and living together” with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed Al Tayyeb, Pope Francis signaled his commitment to bringing people together.
Iraqi Christian children receive their First Communion. All Iraqis have been suffering under the pandemic and security situation in the country. AFP
The visit will not just be for the sake of the country's Christians but for all Iraqis, bringing them together around Pope Francis, an internationally recognised symbol of peace and tolerance
But he has also repeatedly highlighted Iraq's political situation as an issue of personal concern to him. In 2014, some were surprised by the force of his comments on the situation unfolding in the country, saying that it was “licit to stop unjust aggressors”. While he made clear he did not support “making war”, his answer to a question posed by a journalist showed he supported just use of force to protect the country and its citizens. In 2019, he told a group of leaders from Catholic aid agencies “I think constantly of Iraq – where I want to go next year – in the hope that it can face the future through the peaceful and shared pursuit of the common good on the part of all elements of society, including the religious, and not fall back into hostilities sparked by the simmering conflicts of the regional powers.” Earlier this year he also met President Barham Salih in the Vatican to discuss promoting stability and reconstruction in Iraq.
Pope Francis has also empowered Iraqi voices in the Vatican. In 2018 he appointed Chaldean Catholic Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako, the president of Iraq’s Catholic bishops, to the senior Vatican position of cardinal. Cardinal Sako has described his appointment as being for the “whole of Iraq”.
This will also be true of the Pope’s upcoming visit in March. The well-being of Iraq’s Christian community is directly tied to that of all Iraq’s population. Cardinal Sako recognised this last year when he announced that his community would not hold public Christmas celebrations, in solidarity with Iraqis killed and wounded in anti-government protests at the time.
Iraq, like all nations, is suffering under the Covid-19 pandemic. But before this global catastrophe, all Iraqis were trying to recover from ISIS’s reign of terror, years of war, sanctions and internal strife. Therefore, the visit will not just be for the sake of the country’s Christians but for all Iraqis, bringing them together around Pope Francis, an internationally recognised symbol of peace and tolerance.
In 2015 the Pope made a statement, which for many has come to define his papacy, saying the Catholic Church must “leave her four walls” and go out to those on the “peripheries”. He was also the first pope in history to choose the papal name Francis, after St Francis of Assisi, who in the Christian tradition is particularly associated with helping the poor and dispossessed. Despite the fact many will view this unprecedented trip as risky, given the current state of the pandemic and security situation in Iraq, it fits the mission of today’s papacy.
Points tally
1. Australia 52; 2. New Zealand 44; 3. South Africa 36; 4. Sri Lanka 35; 5. UAE 27; 6. India 27; 7. England 26; 8. Singapore 8; 9. Malaysia 3
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
UAE SQUAD
UAE team
1. Chris Jones-Griffiths 2. Gio Fourie 3. Craig Nutt 4. Daniel Perry 5. Isaac Porter 6. Matt Mills 7. Hamish Anderson 8. Jaen Botes 9. Barry Dwyer 10. Luke Stevenson (captain) 11. Sean Carey 12. Andrew Powell 13. Saki Naisau 14. Thinus Steyn 15. Matt Richards
Replacements
16. Lukas Waddington 17. Murray Reason 18. Ahmed Moosa 19. Stephen Ferguson 20. Sean Stevens 21. Ed Armitage 22. Kini Natuna 23. Majid Al Balooshi
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
The biog
Name: Samar Frost
Born: Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: Singing, music and socialising with friends
