I could be corrected, but from the small amount of news coverage that I've seen, it seems Pope Francis isn't doing too bad of a job in Iraq. He has said some things which are very good and he is not shying away from controversy.
First of all, I think it's bold and courageous for the pope to even be going to Iraq, given past terrorism there and the threats. Also, it is during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here are some of the things Pope Francis has said during his visit:
March 5, Presidential Palace (full transcript).
“The age-old presence of Christians in this land, and their contributions to the life of the nation, constitute a rich heritage that they wish to continue to place at the service of all,” said Pope Francis.
This is important to note. Many people are unaware of Christianity's past in places like Iraq, Lebanon, etc. long before Muslim invaders came and violently took over. Many popes in fact came from Syria, which is not all that far away.
March 6, St. Joseph's Cathedral (full transcript):
In this speech, the pope speaks about the virtues of patience, love, kindness. He says the world tells us the mighty and powerful are favored but God says happy are the humble and peacemakers.
March 6, Interreligious Event at Ur (full transcript):
The pope also delivered an interreligious speech at Ur, where Abraham was from. Here is part of what he said:
Hostility, extremism and violence are not born of a religious heart: they are betrayals of religion. We believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses religion; indeed, we are called unambiguously to dispel all misunderstandings. Let us not allow the light of heaven to be overshadowed by the clouds of hatred! Dark clouds of terrorism, war and violence have gathered over this country. All its ethnic and religious communities have suffered.
I am glad the pope specifically talks about extremism and violence and says they have no place in religion. This is definitely a message some people need to hear. Some religious groups actually think violence is a legitimate option when it comes to religion. I have not yet met a Christian who thinks this is the case except perhaps under the condition of strict self-defense.
Strangely, the pope goes on to specifically mention the Yazidi as a group persecuted by Islamic terrorists, but says nothing about Christians, even though Christians were also greatly affected, many were murdered and so on. He is a representative of Christians, not Yazidi. I am not opposed to him mentioning other groups of people, but he should at least mention his own flock.
Other themes of the pontiff's message here at this event were about inclusivity of all people, ensuring the poor have adequate resources, people helping one another. I suppose themes you would expect from this pope.
Unfortunately there seems to be some level of indifferentism in his speech, rarely saying anything specifically about Christianity. Rather, it seems the pope is trying to strike a very conciliatory tone, one of ecumenism. While I don't think the pope should go out of his way to be overly triumphalistic, it can also go too far the other way. Again, he is the representative of Christians, not anyone else.
I thought there was a clip of him specifically mentioning "Islamism" and the threat of violence, but I cannot find in which speech that was contained.
As far as Pope Francis speeches go, these aren't too bad. I'm not saying they are great, but I haven't seen anything he has said that was completely out there. Perhaps I am wrong, and he still has more trip left to go. I don't know what else he has prepared. I wish him good luck on his trip.
