Pope Francis listens to Syriac Catholic Patriarch Ignatius Joseph III Yonan, right, delivering his welcome speech during a meeting with the Qaraqosh community at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, in Qaraqosh, Iraq, Sunday, March 7, 2021, The small Christian community returned to Qaraqosh after the war where they rebuilt their church that was used as a firing range by IS. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

‘You are not alone!’: Pope makes final appeal to Iraqi Christian community
By Claire Giangravé

VATICAN CITY (RNS) – On his last full day in Iraq, Francis told Christians to forgive their oppressors, the better to put their energy toward restoring their country.

Pope Francis visited the ancient Mesopotamian city of Ur on Saturday on the second day of his historic visit to Iraq (March 5-8). There he joined religious leaders for an ecumenical prayer calling for peace and tolerance in the country. Curtesy of Vatican Media.

At ancient city of Ur, Pope Francis makes heartfelt appeal for fraternity of faiths
By Claire Giangravé
Members of the Uyghur community living in Turkey hold banners while protesting against China, in Istanbul, Friday, Feb. 26, 2021. More than a million Uyghurs and other largely Muslim minorities have been swept into prisons and detention camps in China, in what China calls an anti-terrorism measure. Uyghurs, a Turkic group native to China's far west Xinjiang region, have sought refuge in Turkey for decades because of their shared cultural ties with the country. (AP Photo/Omer Kuscu)

As genocide designation becomes a political football, Uyghur activists push for action
By Joseph Hammond
What group is least likely to get a vaccine? (AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)

Black Protestants aren’t least likely to get a vaccine; white evangelicals are
By Yonat Shimron