Iraq’s President Meets Pope Francis

Iraqi president Abdul Latif Rashid met with the head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis on November 18, 2023. Photo: Iraqi President’s office.

Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid met with the head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis in the Vatican after a controversial dispute earlier this year with the head of the Chaldean Church.

According to a statement released by the president’s office, Rashid and Pope Francis discussed the situation of Christians in Iraq with the president saying they are a “key component in the building of the country, its progress and prosperity.”

The Vatican described their discussion as “cordial” and covering “topics of common interest.”

“The need was reiterated for the Catholic Church in Iraq to be able to continue to carry out its valued mission and for all Iraqi Christians to be a vibrant and active part of society and the territory, particularly in the Nineveh Plain,” read the statement from the Vatican.

Four months ago, Rashid revoked a 2013 presidential decree that formally recognized Chaldean Patriarch Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako and granted him powers over Christian endowment affairs. Rashid cited constitutional grounds as a basis for the revocation of the decree that was issued by late Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

Iraq’s Christian community has been devastated in the past two decades. Following the US-led invasion in 2003, sectarian warfare prompted followers of Iraq’s multiple Christian denominations to flee, and attacks by ISIS in 2014 hit minority communities especially hard.

– Rudaw