Pope meets with Iraqi priest who ministers to refugees
August 27, 2015
At his August 26 general audience, Pope Francis spoke with Father Samir Yousif, a Chaldean Catholic priest who ministers to 5,000 refugees in five villages in the region of Amadiya in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Father Yousif, who was given a seat of honor with bishops at the audience, showed the Pontiff photographs of “scenes of unimaginable pain and desperation” suffered by refugees fleeing the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, according to the Vatican newspaper.
The priest expressed gratitude to the Pope for his appeals on behalf of Iraq’s Christian community and for the aid provided by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Italian bishops, and Caritas.
“We do not lack the hope to imagine that one day soon the Pope can come visit us in person,” Father Yousif added.
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Posted by: Bernadette -
Aug. 28, 2015 3:12 PM ET USA
It is to be desired that the pontiff visit these wartorn areas and give solace and comfort to the destitute there. They are suffering terribly and need the encouragement such a visit would provide them. They need to know that the Church is with them and suffers with them, in solidarity with them. Very important. I think we should urge Pope Francis to take the risk of going and ministering to his people in the Middle East. Please God! Pray for this!
