Pope Francis Iraq Tour to Remain as Scheduled

Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church worldwide, issued a statement indicating that he maintains his intention to visit Iraq as scheduled to "meet a people who suffered so much" and promote interreligious dialogue.

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"The day after tomorrow, God willing, I will go to Iraq for a three-day pilgrimage," the pontiff said during Wednesday's General Audience at the Vatican, ahead of the three-day visit he will make this weekend, the first in the history of a pope to the Asian country.

"For a long time, I have wanted to meet that people who suffered so much, to meet that martyred Church," Francis added, referring to the persecution suffered by Iraqi Christians since the beginning of the 21st century, which according to some estimates, reduced their number from about 1.2 million to 300,000.

The Pontiff's visit comes when Iraq is going through a severe economic and financial crisis. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted last October that the country would end 2020 with a 9.5% contraction of its GDP, the worst fall since 2003.

According to the Ministry of Finance, seven of the nearly 40,000,000 inhabitants currently live on a salary or a state pension.

Pope Francis will arrive in Iraq on an unprecedented trip to build bridges between Catholicism and Islam in a nation where the Catholic Christian community has traditionally been punished and persecuted.

The Vatican has defined this visit as "an act of love" and as "something extreme" since it takes place in the midst of a pandemic and new episodes of violence in the region.

Meanwhile, 29 faith-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working in Iraq "welcomed Pope Francis to the cradle of Abraham, Father of many in the faith." 

"Today, Iraq continues to face daunting challenges. Among the 1.2 million Iraqis who remain internally displaced and the approximately 4.8 million returnees, many are in urgent need of assistance," sources from these organizations said. 

The religious leader's tour will coincide with the 30th anniversary of the end of the first Gulf War led by the United States and its allies against Saddam Hussein for Kuwait's invasion, a conflict that caused devastating consequences for Iraq.