Tag: #Pope Francis
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Pope Francis meets father of Alan Kurdi, drowned Syrian toddler
Arbil, Iraq, March 7 (AFP/APP):Pope Francis on his last night in Iraq Sunday met the father of Alan Kurdi, the drowned Syrian Kurdish toddler who became a symbol of the plight of migrants. The photos of Alan’s tiny body, washed up on a Turkish beach in 2015, shocked the world and brought renewed attention to…
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Incense and ululations: Pope meets his Iraqi flock
Baghdad, March 6 (AFP/APP):In the sun-soaked courtyard of Baghdad’s St Joseph Cathedral, members of Iraq’s dwindling Christian community waited in solemn silence for a man they’d never dreamt they would see. Some of the women, who appeared to outnumber the men, wore dainty black or white veils, a sign of respect for the leader of…
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Pope, top Shiite cleric plead for ‘peace’ in historic Iraq encounter
Ur, Iraq, March 6 (AFP/APP):Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, one of top Shiite clerics, told Pope Francis in a historic meeting in Iraq on Saturday that the country’s Christians should live in “peace”. The meeting, on the second day of the first-ever papal visit to Iraq, marked a landmark moment in modern religious history and a…
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Pope & Top Shiite Cleric Plead for ‘Peace’ in Historic Iraq Encounter
The Pope and a top Shiite cleric are pleading for peace in a historic Iraq encounter.
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‘Pilgrim of peace’ Pope Francis heads to war-scarred Iraq
Pope Francis embarked on a historic visit to war-battered Iraq on Friday
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Pope condemns mass abduction of Nigeria schoolgirls
Vatican City, Feb 28 (AFP/APP):Pope Francis condemned on Sunday the kidnapping of more than 300 schoolgirls in Nigeria last week as “vile”. “I join the bishops of Nigeria in condemning this vile abduction of 317 young girls,” the pope said following his weekly Sunday Angelus address to the Catholic faithful on Saint Peter’s Square in…
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Pope Francis on Corona Vaccine
Vatican City, Dec 25 (AFP/APP): Pope Francis in his Christmas message on Friday called for “vaccines for all, especially the most vulnerable and most in need in all regions of the planet” for the coronavirus, which he said had exacerbated existing global crises. The pontiff also touched on the plight of children caught up by…
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Pope calls for dialogue and end to Chile violence
Vatican City, Oct 23 (AFP/APP): Pope Francis launched an appeal Wednesday for dialogue and an end to violent protests in Chile over economic inequality which have swept the country and claimed 15 lives. “I am following what is happening in Chile with concern,” he said during a weekly general audience on Saint Peter’s Square. “I…
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Evangelical churches gain ground in Pope’s crisis-hit Argentina
Buenos Aires, Oct 11 (AFP/APP): The pastor’s voice bellows through an old converted cinema in a rundown Buenos Aires barrio and hundreds of hands reach out in prayer. Though not a typical place of worship, Evangelical churches like this one are sprouting up all over Pope Francis’ former archdiocese, as once staunchly Catholic Argentina battles…
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Vatican to shine light on Amazon’s indigenous communities
Vatican City, Oct 6 (AFP/APP):Pope Francis will gather Catholic bishops at the Vatican Sunday to champion the isolated and poverty-struck indigenous communities of the Amazon, whose way of life is under threat. The global spotlight has recently been on the world’s largest rainforest, which is vital for the planet but is suffering from its worst…