Papacy

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On the Sunday before Christmas, Pope Francis said, “May the weapons be silenced and Christmas carols resound!” according to Kristina Molare at the Catholic News Agency. The Pope continued, in a clear condemnation of the Israeli government, “With sorrow I think of Gaza, of so much cruelty; of the children […]

Christianity

Pope Francis Calls for Painstaking Investigation into Whether Israeli War on Gaza is a Genocide

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Pope Francis has a new book, Hope never disappoints. Pilgrims towards a better world. The English version is not out yet, but I was able to find the Italian. It calls for an investigation into whether the Israeli war on Gaza is a genocide. The Pope mentions Gaza on several […]

Featured

Ayatollah Sistani Affirms Religious Freedom to Pope Francis in HIstoric Iraq Meeting

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Saturday, Pope Francis met in the holy city of Najaf with Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, the spiritual leader of most of the world’s Shiite Muslims outside Iran. Back in 2004 when US Marines were fighting young Shiite militiamen in Najaf (quite against Sistani’s will), I tried to signal to […]

Chaldeans

Pope Francis Preaches Tolerance in War Torn Iraq, and Even Militias Welcome Him

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al Jazeera reports that Pope Francis began his unprecedented trip to Iraq on Friday, his first visit abroad since the beginning of the pandemic. No pope had ever visited Iraq, though the country once had a significant Christian population. Part of the reason for the pope’s visit is to give […]

Iraq

Pope’s upcoming visit brings attention to the dwindling population of Christians in Iraq

The Conversation

By Ramazan Kılınç | – Pope Francis will arrive in Iraq on Friday in a first-ever papal visit to the country that is expected to raise awareness about the challenges facing Iraqi Christians – a majority of whom are Catholic. In the past two decades, the Christian population in Iraq has fallen by over 80%. […]

Islam

Pope Francis, Muslim Rector of al-Azhar, Call for Religious Freedom & Full Citizenship

AFP

The two religious leaders signed a document on “human fraternity for world peace and living together”

Climate Change

Shorter Pope Francis to Big Oil: You’re Going to Hell if You don’t Go Green

Juan Cole

Pope Francis on Saturday forthrightly reminded Big Oil that climate change is a moral issue

Christianity

Pope, after Gaza violence, says ‘defenceless’ being killed in Holy Land

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – Pope Francis, in his Easter address on Sunday, called for peace in the Holy Land two days after 15 Palestinians were killed on the Israeli-Gaza border, saying the conflict there “does not spare the defenceless”, Reuters reports. The pope made his appeal in his “Urbi et Orbi” (to the […]

Israel/ Palestine

Turkey & Vatican tag team Trump over Jerusalem

contributors

Middle East Monitor | – – Both Erdogan and Pope Francis are opposed to US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, which many US allies say could doom Middle East peace efforts. Tayyip Erdogan made the first visit by a Turkish president to the Vatican in 59 years on […]