Drone attack on Iraqi Prime Minister ‘vile act of terrorism’: Pope Francis

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The drone attack on Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi’s residence in Baghdad was a “vile act of terrorism,” Pope Francis said.

In a message sent in the name of the leader of the Catholic Church, who had visited Iraq in March, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin wrote to Al Kadhimi that the Pope “once more expresses his confidence that with the blessing of the highest God, the people of Iraq will be confirmed in wisdom and strength in pursuing the path of peace through dialogue and fraternal solidarity.”

The telegram from the pope, who last met with Al Kadhimi in the Vatican in July, adds to the many messages from the international community condemning the drone attack.

“The Pope often talks about his trip to Iraq, a particularly touching journey that took him to Baghdad, Mosul, Qaraqosh and Erbil,” Giuseppe Ciutti, a Catholic priest who served in Iraq, said.

“There, the pontiff experienced first-hand the suffering of the Iraqi population, and in particular of the Christians.

This experience sealed a particularly heartfelt relationship between the pope and that country.

“This is why this drone attack must have saddened him, because it’s an attack on the institutions that he trusts can work to improve the situation in the country.”