Peaceful co-existence is need of the hour: Leaders

Hostility, extremism and violence are not born of a religious heart, they are betrayals of religion, says Pope; minorities should live like all Iraqis, in security and peace and with full constitutional rights: Al Sistani.

Pope Francis and Iraq’s top Shiite cleric delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence on Saturday, urging Muslims in the war-weary Arab nation to embrace Iraq’s long-beleaguered Christian minority during a historic meeting in the city of Najaf.

Grand Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani said religious authorities have a role in protecting Iraq’s Christians, and that Christians should live in peace and enjoy the same rights as other Iraqis.

The Vatican said Francis thanked Al Sistani for having “raised his voice in defense of the weakest and most persecuted” during some of the most violent times in Iraq’s recent history.

Early on Saturday, the 84-year-old pontiff, traveling in a bullet-proof Mercedes-Benz, pulled up along Najaf’s narrow and column-lined Rasool Street, which culminates at the golden-domed Imam Ali Shrine, one of the most revered sites for Shiites.

He then walked the few meters to al-Sistani’s modest home, which the cleric has rented for decades.

A group of Iraqis wearing traditional clothes welcomed him outside.

As a masked Francis entered the doorway, a few white doves were released in a sign of peace.