Salih extends official visitation to Pope Francis to visit Iraq
President Barham Salih extended an official invitation to Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, to visit Iraq.
Salih received the Chaldean Catholic Patriarch of Babylon, Cardinal Mar Louis Raphael I Sako, at the presidential office in Baghdad on Thursday.
In a letter addressed to Pope Francis, Salih indicated that the Pope’s visit is of great historical importance in supporting Iraq internationally for connotations and considerable meaning it holds, as well as the visit would contribute to enhancing social cohesion among the Iraqi communities.
During the meeting, Salih commended the people of the Christian faith’s significant role in the history of Iraq, and highlighted their outstanding contribution to consolidation of brotherly relations as well as to the promotion of values of citizenship and tolerance among our people without discrimination.
For his part, Sako emphasized the importance of the president’s role in supporting the Christians, and his diligent efforts to enhance the bonds of national cohesion among all the people of this country.