Iraq
Iraq’s struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit
By Mariam Fam — February 25, 2021
(RNS) — The pontiff's first foreign trip since the coronavirus pandemic and the first ever by a pope to Iraq, is a sign that "You're not alone," said a Vatican official.
Pope moves ahead with plans to meet Shiite leader in Iraq
By Nicole Winfield and Samya Kallub — February 8, 2021
ROME (AP) — Francis has spent years trying to improve Christian relations with Muslims, and his meeting with Ali al-Sistani will mark one of his most important encounters with a Shiite leader.
For Iraqi priest, pope’s visit raises hope of restored trust between Christians and Muslims
By Claire Giangravé — February 4, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The Rev. Karam Quasha, a parish priest in northern Iraq, says Francis can mend the ‘broken trust’ between the country’s ancient faiths.
Pope Francis tells Catholic journalists he has hope for ‘courageous’ US church
By Claire Giangravé — February 2, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The news media is plagued by four sins, the pope told reporters: disinformation, calumny, defamation and ‘coprophilia,’ by which he apparently meant love of scandal.
Cardinal Parolin addresses financial scandals, China and Iraq in new interview
By Claire Giangravé — January 29, 2021
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The cardinal, who is the secretary of state at the Vatican, said the world is undergoing massive crises that underline the need to come together in solidarity and dialogue.
Patriarch: Pope to meet Iraqi Shiite leader Sistani in Iraq
By Nicole Winfield and Samya Kullab — January 28, 2021
(RNS) — The Chaldean patriarch, Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, provided the first details of Francis' March 5-8 itinerary during a virtual news conference hosted by the French bishops' conference.
Pope Francis to visit Iraq in March, COVID-19 pandemic permitting
By Frances D'Emilio — December 7, 2020
Pope Francis to make his first overseas trip in more than year, if COVID allows.
The world’s largest Muslim pilgrimage site? Not Mecca, but the Shiite shrine in Karbala
By Edith Szanto — September 9, 2020
(The Conversation) — At Ashoura, Shiites mourn the death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussain.
Women in Muslim countries prepare for ‘least, most’ Ramadan
By Beth Murphy — April 23, 2020
(RNS) — Three Muslim women living in conflict zones reflect on how the hardships of the current crisis have caused them to approach Ramadan this year.
Mideastern burial traditions clash with fears of contagion
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Samya Kallub — April 7, 2020
BAGHDAD (AP) — Mohammed al-Dulfi’s 67-year-old father died on March 21 after a brief struggle against the new coronavirus, but it would take nine days for his body to find a final resting place in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq. On two occasions, the family rejected remote burial plots proposed by […]
Aging Shiite cleric a powerhouse in Iraq. What comes after?
By Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Mariam Fam — February 21, 2020
NAJAF, Iraq (AP) — When Iraq’s top Shiite cleric underwent surgery for a fractured bone last month, it sent shivers around the country and beyond. “May God heal Iraq,” read a photo of Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani that circulated online. Frantic supporters shared prayers. Anti-government protesters hung photos of the black-turbaned cleric with a long […]
Faith leaders offer mixed response after missile strike kills Iranian commander
By Jack Jenkins — January 3, 2020
(RNS) — Religious leaders were split along liberal and conservative lines, though even the president's staunchest supporters appeared unsettled about the potential blowback from the attack.
Aid workers Jessica and Jeremy Courtney on the fallout from Trump’s Syria moves
By Roxanne Stone — October 22, 2019
(RNS) — 'They were refugees, they did what the world wanted them to do. They went back home, they tried to rebuild and then we just opened the gates for more terror to come back again into their lives after they were trying to rebuild.'
Why Jimmy Al-Daoud’s deportation and death hurts all Americans
By Weam Namou — September 1, 2019
STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (RNS) — Chaldeans, like other people of minority faiths, need protection and revival, not condemnation and expulsion.
Iraqi refugee in New Mexico leaves church sanctuary after two years
By Aysha Khan — July 1, 2019
(RNS) — The 66-year-old Muslim refugee from Iraq, who has lived in the U.S. for decades and trained tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers, spent two years inside an Albuquerque church’s basement seeking sanctuary from deportation.