President Barham Salih extended an official invitation to Pope Francis to visit Iraq.
His Excellency received the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon, H.B.
Cardinal Mar Louis Raphael I Sako, at the Presidential Office in
Baghdad on Thursday, June 20, 2019.
In a letter addressed to His Holiness, President Salih indicated that
the Pope’s visit is of great historical importance in supporting Iraq
internationally for connotations and considerable meaning it holds, as
well as the visit would contribute to enhancing social cohesion among
the Iraqi communities.
During the meeting, the President commended the people of the Christian
faith’s significant role in the history of Iraq, and highlighted their
outstanding contribution to consolidation of brotherly relations as well
as to the promotion of values of citizenship and tolerance among our
people without discrimination.
For his part, Sako emphasized the importance of the President’s role in
supporting the Christians, and His Excellency’s diligent efforts to
enhance the bonds of national cohesion among all the people of this
country.