Rome Newsroom, Mar 2, 2021 / 12:00 pm
The Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbil said he hopes that with Pope Francis' visit to Iraq, the world will see a different, and positive, side of the country, after many years of violence and war.
Archbishop Bashar Warda told EWTN News he hoped that with the pope's trip to his country, "Iraq will be seen by the whole world as people of good faith, people who love peace, and people who introduced the whole world to a great father Abraham."
Speaking via video call from Erbil, Warda noted he had been saying for 50 years that "the world was always, and still is, seeing images and scenes from Iraq about all its war, violence, kidnap[ping], bombing, killing, etc.," adding that the images are "really negative and evil ones."
"For the first time, they will probably see joyful people welcoming a guest of Iraq, and hopefully, in the final Mass, they will also see the crowds joining together and praying together," he said.