Sounds kinda weird?
A Catholic Pope going on a pilgrimage to a Muslim Country?
And doing so during Pandemic?
“I come as a pilgrim of peace,” Francis said.
Francis’s four-day visit is his first international trip since the start of the pandemic and marks a return to the globe-trotting diplomacy — especially to minority-Christian countries — that had been his hallmark.
Some have questioned why he is choosing to make the trip now, given the multitude of threats. Militias are competing for power and launching rocket attacks. The Islamic State has been beaten back but not fully eliminated. And coronavirus cases have climbed higher and higher over the past month, prompting the Iraqi government to impose a curfew and other restrictions, including on religious gatherings….
image…BBC
Pope Francis and Iraq’s top Shiite cleric delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence Saturday, urging Muslims in the war-weary Arab nation to embrace Iraq’s long-beleaguered Christian minority during a historic meeting in the holy city of Najaf….
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