Today Pope Francis spoke out against the violence in Iraq and appealed to world leaders to work for a peaceful solution:
Pope Francis on Sunday expressed outrage at violence aimed at religious minorities in Iraq, where fleeing children have died of thirst, and called on the world “to stop these crimes.”
In a strongly worded message during his traditional Sunday blessing, Francis said the news from Iraq “leaves us in dismay and disbelief.” He cited “the thousands of people, including Christians, who have been brutally forced from their homes, children who have died from thirst during the escape and women who have been seized.”
He also spoke of the destruction of “the destruction of religious, historic and cultural treasures.”
The pope urged the international community to find “an efficient political solution that can stop these crimes and re-establish the rule of law.” He said his personal emissary, Cardinal Fernando Filoni, would depart Monday for Iraq “in order to better ensure those dear suffering populations of my closeness to them.”
For the full article from the Huffington Post, please click here.