Combat Corruption, Embrace Diversity, Pope Urges Iraqis

‘Only if we learn to look beyond our differences and see each other as members of the same human family will we be able to begin an effective process of rebuilding...’

BAGHDAD

Pope Francis urged Iraqi officials on Friday to “combat the scourge of corruption,” during the first papal visit to a country long considered one of the world’s most graft-tainted.

In his first public address, at Iraq’s presidential palace, Francis said authorities must “combat the scourge of corruption, misuse of power and disregard for law.”

Francis urged Iraqis to treat their Christian brothers as a precious resource to protect, not an “obstacle” to eliminate as he opened the first-ever papal visit to Iraq with a plea for tolerance and fraternity among Christians and Muslims.

Francis brushed aside the coronavirus pandemic and security concerns to resume his globe-trotting papacy after a yearlong hiatus spent under COVID-19 lockdown in Vatican City. His primary aim over the weekend is to encourage Iraq’s dwindling number of Christians, who were violently persecuted by the Daesh group and still face discrimination, to stay and help rebuild the country devastated by wars and strife.